


Gifted

by sheryl_sems



Category: The 100 (TV), The 100 Series - Kass Morgan
Genre: Acceptance, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Mutants, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Bellarke, Endgame Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Everyone has cool powers, Fluff and Humor, Found Family, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, Marcus Kane is the best, Minor Octavia Blake/Lincoln, Mutants, Octavia Blake & Clarke Griffin Friendship, Slow Burn Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin, Superpowers, Wells Jaha Lives, X-Men Inspired, friendship and healing, i just love superpower/mutant storylines
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:15:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 60,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25209826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheryl_sems/pseuds/sheryl_sems
Summary: Bellamy Blake can’t fathom why she’s here and what her gift is, but what he knows with complete and utter certainty is that he despises her. People like her have grown up with anything and everything that they could ever want, their gifts celebrated with a hug and a kiss and whispers of how proud her parents are. But people like him? People like him have had to fight every damn day of their lives to survive. They are hated and outcasted, told that their powers are nothing but burdens.So when a girl like Clarke Griffin shows up at Marcus Kane’s Home for the Gifted, of course he doesn’t think she deserves to be here with the rest of them. He just can’t understand why nobody else feels the same way.Mutants/X-Men AU
Relationships: Bellamy Blake & Octavia Blake, Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin, Octavia Blake & Clarke Griffin, The 100 Friendships and Family!
Comments: 103
Kudos: 281





	1. Home

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I know I swore to myself that I wouldn't post a new fic until I completed my incomplete fics on my page... but... oops... I just couldn't help myself. I've been writing this one for months and I just really wanted to share it already! It's exciting and fun and emotional and fluffy and I've just loved writing it. Let me know what you think in the comments!! Enjoy!!! x
> 
> Side note: if you've been reading about everything going on with Bob & Eliza, I know it's been a rocky rollercoaster of emotions for some of you. For those who find it difficult to read and write fanfiction at the moment, here's something you can do- do some google searches of other actors and actresses that you think would make a good Bellamy and Clarke- and you can picture them while reading fanfiction instead, if that makes it easier for you! I love the idea, for example, of Virginia Gardner as Clarke. I'm going to do some intense research to find someone who would make a good Bellamy and update this when I do ;) For those of you who have no issues with still picturing Bob and Eliza, continue to do that! But please be kind about this issue, as many people feel differently from each other.

The first time Bellamy Blake sees Clarke Griffin smile is when he’s on his way to meet Professor Kane on a Friday evening. She’s sitting squashed between Monty and Jasper on the floor just outside the Anatomy classroom, waiting for their class to start. They’re hunched over Monty’s phone, Clarke leaning in slightly towards Monty and Jasper unashamedly in Clarke’s space in order to peer into the screen.   
  
  
Bellamy stares. Because her smiling is an unnerving sight. It softens the sharp edges of her precise porcelain skin and ice blue eyes and makes her look _human_. And it unsettles him. Because she’s only ever been mechanical towards him. He wonders whether she’s secretly a cyborg, whether that’s her gift. She’s been here two weeks now and nobody knows what she can do. He _hates_ it.   
  
  
“Didn’t think you knew how to smile,” he finds himself saying and grits his teeth together, wishes he hadn’t said anything at all.   
  
  
All three of their faces snap up to look at him and her nostrils flare angrily the moment she sees that it’s him.   
  
  
“Didn’t think you knew how to be nice. Guess I was right,” she shoots back and Jasper’s eyes widen comically. He shares a semi-terrified and semi-amused look with Monty.   
  
  
Bellamy's jaw clamps shut tighter and he walks away, letting her “What the hell’s your problem?” meet his back.   
  
  
Raven says he should give her a chance. But he _knows_ people like Clarke Griffin. Daughter of Senator Abigail Griffin and the late Jake Griffin, ex-CEO of Ark Technologies. She comes from money, from luxury, from _acceptance_. She hasn’t had to work a damn day in her entitled little life and has the privilege of leading whatever life she wants, served to her on a diamond-studded platter. Her gift must have been celebrated in her family, received with a hug and a kiss to the forehead with whispers of how proud her parents are of her.   
  
  
But him and Octavia? They have _fought_ for survival. They were hated, outcasted, spat on. When their mother died when he was sixteen and Octavia was thirteen, they had never run so far and so fast as they did to make sure they weren’t put in the system. Because nobody and everybody knows what happens to mutants that go into the system- nobody knows what really happens to them but everybody knows they're never seen again. Imprisoned and executed, some say. Sold and exploited, others say. _Your sister, your responsibility_ , his mother had told him when Octavia was born. And after she found out about their powers- _Your secrets, your burden to bear._  
  
  
When he knocks and enters Professor Kane’s office, the man looks up from behind his desk and smiles warmly, closing and putting aside the notebook he was writing in.  
  
  
“Bellamy, it’s good to see you,” Kane nods, gesturing to the seat across him. Bellamy sits down, not looking forward to the conversation he knows is coming. “How are you?”  
  
  
Bellamy nods his head, “Yeah, good, thank you.”  
  
  
“I’m glad,” Kane says. “I think you know why I’ve called you here today.” Bellamy doesn’t reply, just takes a deep breath, ready to defend his sister. “Your sister hurt two students on Wednesday."  
  
  
“It wasn’t her fault, Professor,” Bellamy starts, having practiced his speech multiple times already. He knew how it would end though. He’d receive a warning to relay to Octavia, she’d have a week to reform herself and if she didn’t, they’d have to pack up and leave. “Her powers are too strong for her- she doesn’t know how to control them. But she wants to. She _hates_ being in people’s heads, she hates not being in control. But when she’s scared, her powers take over. That’s what happened during her Defence class. She got scared and didn’t even realise that those kids had been thrown across the room. It wasn’t her fault and she’s already apologised.”  
  
  
When he finishes, he glances up to see Kane nodding. “I understand. Professor Indra thinks we should set up some lessons for her to help her control her powers. Outside regular classes, that is. If she’s up for the extra work.”  
  
  
Bellamy blinks. Then blinks again. “This- this isn’t a warning?”  
  
  
“What do you mean?” Kane frowns.  
  
  
“I thought this would be a warning that if Octavia can’t get her powers in control, we’d have to leave. Well, _she’d_ have to leave and I’m not letting her go alone.”  
  
  
“Bellamy, of course not,” Kane’s frown deepens. “I set up this school twenty years ago because I wanted to give students a safe place to learn about their powers, about themselves. Each power comes with a different set of rules entirely and we _know_ this. It’s what professors like Indra and Diyoza are trained to expect. We’re not going to turn our backs on Octavia just because her powers are particularly strong or make her slightly volatile right now. We’re here to help her in any way we can. Being a mutant, having these powers, we’re constantly made to feel like they’re burdens. But they’re not. They’re _gifts_.”  
  
  
_Marcus Kane’s School for the Gifted._  
  
  
“Oh,” Bellamy releases a heavy breath. “I’m sorry,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m just used to- we’re not used to receiving help. I know that sounds stupid-“  
  
  
“It doesn’t,” Kane interrupts gently. “This is your and Octavia’s home now, Bellamy. Whatever we can give you, we will.” Bellamy nods, feeling choked up. “Will you discuss with your sister whether extra lessons with Professor Indra and myself sounds like something she would be up for?”  
  
  
“ _And_ yourself?” Bellamy asks, slightly surprised.  
  
  
“It would be beneficial, we feel, to have another telepath in the room while training her,” Kane nods. “I would be happy to help her understand her powers. It’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to interact closely with another telepath. And I understand what she’s going through, considering I went through the same when I discovered my powers.”   
  
  
“That’s kind of you, Professor, thank you,” Bellamy says. “I’ll pass the message along but I am certain she will say yes.”   
  
  
“I look forward to an official affirmation,” Kane says. “If there’s nothing else then that will be all.”  
  
  
Bellamy moves to stand up, wondering idly whether Clarke was still in the corridor outside.   
  
  
“Is everything alright otherwise?” Bellamy’s eyes snap to Kane, who looks as composed as ever. “You look tense.”  
  
  
“Are you reading my mind?” Bellamy asks a little harshly, before wincing in apology.  
  
  
“I do not invade my students’ privacy in such a manner, Bellamy, I would never,” Kane says firmly. “Your face is an open book.”  
  
  
Bellamy sighs heavily, pushing his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. “I just-,” Kane waits patiently as he finds the words, “-I don’t understand why Clarke Griffin gets to be here. Surely her family supports her enough to be living a _normal_ life out there. Why does she get to be here with us, people who are here because we have nowhere else to go?”  
  
  
“As soon as you find out you’re a mutant, there’s nothing _normal_ about your life anymore. Have you seen the news lately, Bellamy?” Bellamy nods. “Then you couldn’t have missed the anti-mutant attitude that is growing more and more rampant. Protests, riots, attacks. All against our people. That includes mutants from _all_ backgrounds. Clarke may come from a different place to you and your sister, but she’s still one of us. I came from a rich family- my mother was a congresswoman and my father a judge in the Supreme Court. They loved me and gave me everything I ever wanted. But that didn’t stop them from disowning me when they realised I was a mutant. I was alone and abandoned at twenty-eight and suddenly my upbringing didn’t matter one bit.  
  
  
“Clarke deserves to be here as much as anybody else,” Kane finishes by saying. “If you can learn to look past your differences, you might be surprised at how similar you are.”  
  
  
Bellamy almost snorts in disbelief but holds back, trying to take in everything else Kane has said. He wishes him a good evening before leaving. Clarke is no longer in the corridor outside.   
  
  
+++  
  
  
“Look who’s joining us today,” Raven says, eyes looking over Bellamy’s shoulder. He and Miller turn around to see Clarke walking in, dressed in their uniform black t-shirt and black track bottoms. She looks a bit nervous, fingers wringing together as she glances around, probably in hopes of seeing someone she could talk to. She finally settles awkwardly near the door of their practice room, looking down at her hands.   
  
  
“Isn’t Octavia joining us today?” Miller asks.   
  
  
“She’s got special training lined up with Kane and Indra later this evening. She’s sitting out of regular Defence classes until she’s got better control of her powers.”  
  
  
Raven bobs her head. “Makes sense. She doing okay?”  
  
  
Bellamy shrugs. “As well as she can be. She’s scared and she isolates herself when she feels that way. But hopefully these extra lessons will help her.”  
  
  
“We’re here if you need anything,” Miller says, clapping him on the shoulder. Bellamy nods in thanks.  
  
  
“Side note,” Bellamy says, “At least we find out what powers Griffin has.”   
  
  
But the lesson begins and when Clarke starts using a bo-staff instead of her powers, Bellamy realises with great disappointment and frustration that he _wasn’t_ going to find out what she could do. Of course, he can’t help but chide her about it.   
  
  
“A staff to a mutant defence class? You won’t stand a damn chance,” he says in a low voice, coming up to stand beside her.  
  
  
“Don’t test me, Blake,” she replies, gloved fingers tightening around her staff.   
  
  
“Today, we’re going to run our first simulation for your batch,” Diyoza’s voice booms around them. “This room is rigged up with a dozen different kinds of obstacles. I’m going to run the beginners simulation. Your job? Make it out alive.”  
  
  
“Can these things actually kill us?” Raven asks, but the corners of her lips are quirked slightly upwards, her fingers curling and uncurling.  
  
  
“Let’s find out,” Diyoza smirks. “We start today with a fifteen minute simulation. I’m going to be up in the control room. Your best shot at this is working as a team. Use each other’s skills to boost your game plan. Good luck.” With that, she raises her arms up by her sides and a gust of wind materialises around her, carrying her up to the control room. The dozen students stare up at her in amazement. They know Diyoza can control the weather, but they await the day they can see her fully in action.   
  
  
The students look amongst each other. They’ve all lived and studied together in the mansion for the past six months. Miller has been here the longest, for the full six, Bellamy for five, Raven for three and Clarke for the least amount of time. They know each other well enough but they’ve never had to _fight_ together.   
  
  
Suddenly, the metal walls around them and the floor beneath them shift and slide and before they know it, they’re standing in the middle of what feels like an obstacle course. The sound of mechanical whirrs have them looking around to see robots of different shapes and sizes appearing from panels in the wall, different kinds of weapons attached to their bodies.   
  
  
“Stay in groups and take out the bots nearest to you!” Bellamy shouts and they break into the groups closest to them. This means that Raven, Miller, Bellamy and Clarke land up together. Three bots zoom in their direction and they leap and roll out of the way. Raven lands on her knees and slams her palm down against the floor. The floor trembles at her touch but while it deters the robots, the other eleven students get knocked down too.   
  
  
“Shit! Sorry!” Raven yells out, standing up.   
  
  
“Behind you!” Clarke cries, lunging forward and landing between Raven and a robot heading towards her. Raven spins around to see Clarke hit the robot with her staff, knocking it to the floor. It gets up almost immediately and Raven leaps over to it, grabs it around the head and sends tremors through its body. She flings it away as the robot’s internal wiring gets fried, sending out electric sparks.   
  
  
As two robots zoom towards them, Bellamy and Miller stand back to back, targeting one robot each. Bellamy sends icicles flying from his palms at his target, embedding them into the robot’s head. When it begins firing pellets at him, he defends himself with a wall of ice. Behind him, Miller is shooting balls of fire from his fingertips at the robot heading in his direction. The fire doesn’t dissuade the bot and it zooms closer.   
  
  
Meanwhile a larger robot with blades as arms rotates between Raven and Clarke, who are taking in turn to deliver blow after blow, Clarke with her staff and Raven sending shockwaves from her hands.   
  
  
“Ready to finish her off?” Clarke calls. Raven nods and Clarke knocks the bot over before slamming her staff right through its chest, forming a large hole. “Fry her from the inside!” Raven plunges her hand into the bot and suddenly the bot is shaking violently until it dies with a loud hiss. Clarke slams her staff against the bot’s neck, dislodging its head. She picks up the dismembered head and with something akin to a war cry, throws it straight into the bot in front of Miller. The distraction is all Miller needs and he grabs the live bot from behind and sets it on fire.   
  
  
A glance around the room and Bellamy can see that the other three groups, except for one, have their bots crashing too.   
  
  
“Bellamy, behind you!” Clarke suddenly screams. She runs past him and he turns in time to see her hit the small bot flying in his direction. It hurtles to the ground while she lands gracefully, chest heaving, and Raven releases an audible breath of relief.   
  
  
“Why don’t you use your damn powers?” Bellamy says, suddenly angry. He’s angry that she was watching his back. Angrier that she did it without her powers.   
  
  
“What is your damn problem?” She whirls around but misjudging the distance between them, the end of her staff catches him roughly on the shoulder. She opens her mouth to apologise but he growls and kicks his foot out at her knee and it buckles, sending her downwards. Raven yells his name and Miller mutters “ _dude, it was just an accident.”_   
  
  
Bellamy has never seen Clarke _angry_ but he imagines this is it. She gets to her feet quickly and swings her staff at his stomach, knocking him down. The second he lands, he pushes his hands out and sends three ice blasts at her. She dodges two but the third snags her upper arm, leaving a gash. She grits her teeth and spins her staff in front of her, preparing for another hit, while Bellamy gets to his feet. However, before they can move an inch further, a lighting bolt strikes the ground between them and they scramble quickly backwards.   
  
  
Diyoza descends on them from above, a fury in her eyes that manifests as strong gales circling her. The students all take a few steps back, raising their arms in front of their faces to ward off the winds. When Diyoza lands on the ground in front of Bellamy and Clarke, everything is dead silent. The bots have disengaged, the students do not dare to even breathe.   
  
  
“Do either of you care to explain yourselves?” Her voice is low, dangerous.   
  
  
Bellamy licks his lips, jaw set. “She started it."  
  
  
“It was an acc-“ Diyoza holds her hand up, silencing Clarke. She turns a severe glare at Bellamy.  
  
  
“ _She started it_?” He stares down at the floor. “How old are you?” He doesn’t move. "How. Old. Are. You?” She says again, enunciating every word. Bellamy feels a sharp stab of fear.  
  
  
“Twenty-two,” he replies, voice strained.   
  
  
Diyoza nods her head in a faux impressed manner. “Incredible. So she ‘ _started it_ ’ and you decided to act your age and strike back?” Bellamy breathes hard, feeling the tingles of shame and humiliation setting in. “You are not _five_ , Mr. Blake. She hit you, it was an accident, you move on. Your task in here is to fight _together,_ not fight _each other_. Accidents happen, you nod at each other, shake it off and keep fighting.” Her voice becomes louder and angrier with every word and suddenly every student in the room knows why the older students are afraid of Diyoza.   
  
  
“I’m sorry, Professor,” Clarke says softly, chin up but eyes ashamed.  
  
  
“I’m sorry too,” Bellamy says. But he needs to clear one thing up so he continues, “I’m not defending my actions, but I thought we needed to use our powers in here. I don’t understand why all of us are using our powers to help ourselves and help each other but she doesn’t have to.” He nods at Clarke, who looks like she is shrinking into herself.   
  
  
“My instructions were that you use your own and each other’s _skills_ to survive. That includes everything from your gifts to your intelligence to your abilities in hand-to-hand combat. You don’t just use your powers to fight, you use everything you got. If someone in here prefers to use one over the other, you _respect_ it and use what you’re offered. Is that clear, Mr. Blake?”   
  
  
Bellamy nods his head curtly.   
  
  
“That doesn’t excuse you from what just happened, Ms. Griffin. Both of you will report to me here on Friday at 4pm.” They nod, refusing to look at each other. “The rest of you, well done today. It was a good first simulation and it was a good move working together in groups, watching each other’s backs. Next week we’ll be back to hand-to-hand combat work and from week after, I’ll train you during the simulations to take your skills to the next level. If anyone has any concerns or thoughts, please feel free to come see me in my quarters. We all feeling good?” The dozen of them nod, some smiling. “Have a good evening, kids.”   
  
  
Everyone filters out of the room slowly, chatting about the simulations and finally getting to use their gifts in battle. Bellamy, Raven and Miller are quiet on their way out and when Bellamy looks up as someone brushes past him, he sees Clarke hurrying away quickly, head bowed.  
  
  
+++  
  
  
  
“Bellamy!”   
  
  
Bellamy turns around to find Monty walking towards him, hands in his cardigan pockets. “It’s getting cold,” the younger boy comments, taking a seat beside Bellamy on the bench by the edge of the lake.   
  
  
Bellamy had been practicing freezing and thawing a small part of the lake in front of him for a good part of the last hour.   
  
  
“Sorry,” he says, turning the lake back to its original state, but not without some difficulty. He was still learning.  
  
  
“Wasn’t a comment on your gift,” Monty shrugs. He looks up at the sky, “It’s genuinely just getting colder.”   
  
  
Bellamy bobs his head before turning back to look over the water. “Is there a reason you sought me out?”   
  
  
Monty hesitates before saying, “Harper mentioned the fight between you and Clarke.” Harper was in their Defence class. She had a pair of impressive wings but she was yet to learn how to control them well enough to fly higher than a few inches off the ground. But she was strong and kind and Bellamy respected and liked her.   
  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
  
“Yeah... I- Look, I don’t know whether something happened between you both to make you hate her. But… If this is about her upbringing and her background- you should- you should back off,” Bellamy’s eyebrows rise and he looks at Monty. He’s never seen Monty on the offence before, never seen him look passionate about something other than tech with Raven or pranks with Jasper. “I’m serious. She’s been through a lot.”  
  
  
“We’ve all been through a lot,” Bellamy responds tightly.  
  
  
“I _know,_ ” Monty says. “But no one’s giving _you_ shit, or Raven or me. And no one’s acting like you have it easy when you don’t.”  
  
  
“She _does_ have it easy.”  
  
  
“You don’t _know_ that!” Monty bursts, turning on the bench to face Bellamy head-on. “You don’t know _her!_ And frankly I’m tired of you treating her like crap.”  
  
  
“Monty…”   
  
  
“No, Bellamy. You’re a good person. You take care of us and you’re there for us. And I love you for that. But you need to back off from Clarke. She’s here because she has nowhere else to go. Just like the rest of us.” With that, he stands up and heads back towards the mansion, leaving Bellamy behind with a bitter taste of guilt in his mouth.   
  
  
+++  
  
  
“Monty ambushed me this morning,” Bellamy says to Raven and Murphy over dinner that night. Murphy raises an eyebrow but Raven looks unsurprised.  
  
  
“He was asking where you were,” she explains. “And I was there when Harper told him about your little fight in defence class.”   
  
  
“He thinks I should back off,” Bellamy admits.   
  
  
“Maybe you should.” Both Bellamy and Raven are startled that these words come out of Murphy’s mouth. He rolls his eyes. “I know I said I’d hate her the second she walked through our doors with her perfectly set hair and designer coat but... she’s okay.”  
  
  
“What did she have to do for _you_ to change your mind?” Raven asks.   
  
  
He shrugs. “Professor Indra was picking on me and Griffin actually stood up for me and said I didn’t do anything wrong. Indra backed down but gave her detention for speaking out of turn. You know Indra- too proud to say she was wrong so she asserts some power instead.”  
  
  
Bellamy feels wholly unsettled by this information. If John Murphy could see good in Clarke Griffin, could she really be as bad as he thought?   
  
  
“Is there a reason Octavia’s not sitting with us?” Raven asks in a soft, concerned voice, looking to a table on their right. Bellamy turns to look at his sister, who is sitting alone at the end of one of the other dinner tables, pushing around her food with a lost expression.   
  
  
Bellamy sighs, “She had a rough session with Diyoza and Kane yesterday. Been withdrawn ever since. I think she’s scared she’s never going to control her powers, that she’ll have to be kept locked away. No one wants to be near her after what happened with Sterling and Evans.”  
  
  
“We can go sit with her,” Raven says.  
  
  
“She said she just wanted to be alone,” Bellamy says. “I’d give her another day before approaching her again.”   
  
  
Raven is about to nod before her eyes widen. “Apparently Clarke didn’t receive the memo.” They watch as Clarke approaches Octavia, dinner plate in hand. Octavia looks up when Clarke speaks and gestures to the seat across Octavia. The dark-haired girl stares at her for a few long moments before shrugging and nodding and Clarke sits down across her.   
  
  
“I feel like I’m seeing Clarke fucking Griffin in a different way from everybody else,” Bellamy says, feeling frustrated that even his _sister_ was accepting the prim princess.  
  
  
“Yeah,” Raven says, looking at him with an unimpressed expression, “Your sight tends to be distorted when you’ve got your head so far up your own ass.”  
  
  
+++  
  
  
Diyoza checks her watch again and her jaw tightens. _4:04pm_. Bellamy feels more and more smug with every impatient tap of Diyoza’s foot.   
  
  
Finally, she bursts through the door, hair in a messy high ponytail and gloved hands gripping her staff.   
  
  
“I am _so_ sorry,” Clarke says. “Professor Cartwright needed some assistance collating Anatomy notes for next week and we lost track of time.”  
  
  
“4pm means 4pm, Miss Griffin. Perhaps you’d like me to gift you a watch for your birthday next week?” Clarke’s eyes lower to the floor. “Never mind now. See to it that this doesn’t happen again.”  
  
  
“Yes, Professor.”  
  
  
“Now you both know why you’re here,” Diyoza says and Clarke and Bellamy glance at each other before nodding. “Professor Kane has mentioned that there has been some animosity between the two of you over the past two weeks. How you feel about each other in your private time is none of my concern.” Bellamy squirms at the choice of words. “But how you treat each other during my class _is_. We train in here so that if danger should befall you, you will be ready. This could include people targeting you. Or it could include you going out with a team to help protect mutants in need in the outside world.   
  
  
To win, to survive- you have to have each other’s back. You need to be able to work together and fight together. The threat against our people are _outside_ these four walls, not inside. Not amongst each other. We have enough to worry about without making each other the enemy. You don’t have to like each other but when you’re _here_ , when you’re training with me- you’re going to be on the same side. You learn about each other, you respect each other, you support each other. Understand?”  
  
  
Bellamy and Clarke nod.   
  
  
“Good. Today, I’m going to run a twenty minute simulation. Every five minutes, it’s going to get tougher to beat. Work together and survive. If the simulation wins, you come back here next Friday.” With that, she flies straight up to the control room and within seconds, the metal door of the room is sliding shut and the walls and floors are shifting into obstacles.   
  
  
“Are you planning on using your powers?” Bellamy asks as they hear the telltale sounds of the bots starting up.   
  
  
“If I use my powers and we’re the only two people in the room, then only one of us is going to remain conscious and it’s not going to be you,” she replies. He opens his mouth, lips already pulling into a defensive snarl, but she shakes her head, “I’m not taking a dig at your abilities. I’m saying it because it’s genuinely true. Trust me, we’re better off if I use my staff.” He’s about to respond but three bots zoom out at them from different directions, drawing their focus.   
  
  
Bellamy has set off before she can open her mouth to suggest a plan of attack and he sees her roll her shoulders before running towards the bot heading in her direction. They deal several attacks to their respective targets, breaking them, before turning to the third together. Before either can say a word, they’re sprinting towards it and as Bellamy leaps to grab the top of the robot and freeze it, Clarke does the same in order to smash it with her staff. They collide hard, heads slamming against each other. The robot whirls and lashes out with its arms, sending them flying across the room.   
  
  
Limbs tangling, they land roughly, him half on top of her. She pushes him off, hair in her face and breathing heavy. He scrambles off, sweat beading on his forehead.   
  
  
“Fuck,” he growls, clutching his head where they collided. She’s rubbing at the side of her head too, wincing.   
  
  
“Bellamy!” She yells, looking over his shoulder and he stands up quickly, sending four consecutive ice blasts at the bot, knocking it over. Just as they’re catching their breath, the walls shift and slide and cannons appear along one side of the wall. Before they know what’s happening, it’s shooting rubber pellets at them. Bellamy throws up a wall of ice to block them but the bullets begin cracking through the wall almost instantly.  
  
  
“Get behind a block!” Clarke yells. She sprints towards one of the metal barricades that had risen from the ground at the start of the simulation. She takes cover behind it and Bellamy follows closely behind. “Plan of action?”   
  
  
He crouches from his position and quickly peeks over the top of the barricade before ducking down again. “There are bloody bots heading our way too.”   
  
  
“Diyoza didn’t mention _how_ much more difficult each level would get,” Clarke says. “These things can’t kill us, right?”  
  
  
“All of our seniors are still up and around so I’m hoping not,” Bellamy replies and they jerk forward when the bots begin to slam against the barricade.  
  
  
“How easy is it to balance on ice?” Clarke asks, gears in her head spinning.   
  
  
“Depends on who’s doing it,” Bellamy replies.   
  
  
“If we can get above the bots and cannons, we can try to beat them from a height,” Clarke says. “Can you get up there and ice them?”   
  
  
A muscle in his jaw ticks and he says tersely, “I can ice my way up there but my powers aren’t strong enough to be multi-tasking with them.”  
  
  
“Then take me up with you,” she suggests easily. “You keep us up there and I’ll smash the bots.” He stares at her for a long second, battling with himself, before remembering Diyoza’s instructions.   
  
  
_Work together and survive._  
  
  
“Okay,” he agrees. “We’ll need a running start to get up the ice slope. You’ll need to hold on to me.” She swallows hard and nods. “Just follow my lead.” With a deep breath, he raises an ice wall from the top edge of the barricade to temporarily hold off the attacks before jumping to his feet. He turns sideways and focusing, forms a slope of ice just above the height of the cannons. He looks towards Clarke just as the ice wall shatters, leaving them unprotected. He grabs her around the waist, her arm winding around his shoulders. Ignoring the way she fits perfectly into his side, he sprints forward and onto the ice. She slips the second her feet make contact with the slippery slope but he tightens his hold, his footing perfect upon his own creation, and runs up the slope to the top. The bots turn towards them but don’t seem to be able to shoot upwards, attacking instead the foot of the slope. The cannons remain shooting forward.  
  
  
Bellamy extends the ice beneath them till they’re above the cannons.  
  
  
“Smash them!” He says, letting go off Clarke but keeping a grip on her arm.  
  
  
“I have a better idea,” she says. “Get us closer to the cannons.” The ice beneath them trembles as the bots ram into the foot of the slope. Bellamy doesn’t question her, just lowers them closer to the cannon. As he works on reinforcing their ice path, she gets to her knees and pushes downwards at the cannon just beneath her. Grinning when it moves easily, she turns the one in her grip towards the bots and aiming carefully, she fires straight at them. They go down within seconds, but the pellets end up hitting the foot of the slope and it shatters.   
  
  
Both of them cry out as the ice collapses from under them, leaving them free-falling almost five meters. But as they’re falling, the floor slides open completely, giving way to a trampoline material beneath it. Bellamy lands on his hands and then shifts to a comfortable position but Clarke lands on her knee and her leg twists beneath her. She cries out and shifts position to sit on her bum, hand gripping her knee.  
  
  
Diyoza descends from the control room and lands beside Clarke.   
  
  
“How bad is it?” She asks.  
  
  
“I think it just got bruised, I don’t feel any pulls or severe sprains,” Clarke says, breathing deeply in and out. “Could have been worse.” Clarke hadn’t even noticed the bots and obstacles disappearing and wonders where they went. The three of them are on an empty trampoline surface. She looks around in awe. “This room is ultra cool. Ultra terrifying, but ultra cool.”  
  
  
Diyoza smiles. “I’ll admit I upped the difficulty a bit too much between the two levels. I was just curious to see what both of you would do when thrown together.”   
  
  
Bellamy and Clarke look at each other and both breathe out a small laugh together, adrenaline wearing off.   
  
  
“Well done, both of you. For a first attempt, that was good. Can be better, of course, but good. You were smart and relied on each other.” They nod at their Professor and mumble thank-you’s. “Of course, since that was only ten minutes and two levels, it means you’ll need to be back here next Friday.”  
  
  
“Fair levels next time?” Bellamy asks, almost pleadingly.   
  
  
“Fair levels next time,” Diyoza promises with a smile before standing up. “Why don’t you help Miss Griffin to the medbay, Mr. Blake?” Both their eyes widen before they look at each other.  
  
  
“That- that won’t be necessary, Professor. I’ll manage just fine,” Clarke says quickly, standing up with the help of Diyoza’s outstretched hand.   
  
  
“It’s the least he can do,” Diyoza shakes her hand dismissively before preparing to fly back up to the control room. “I’m meeting Professor Cartwright later today and I’ll be checking whether you helped Clarke the whole way there,” she directs at Bellamy before taking off. Bellamy looks at Clarke and they both sigh heavily, knowing they would have to spend the next five minutes together. Alone. In a non threatening situation.  
  
  
Clarke moves first, limping towards the door. She doesn’t ask for help and Bellamy doesn’t offer. He’s not sure they’re quite there yet.  
  
  
They’re in the elevator up to the hangar bay when he breaks the silence. “Without meaning any offence-”  
  
  
“Unlikely, but go on.”  
  
  
“What’s up with your powers?” She opens her mouth to protest but he cuts through quickly, “No, really. I’m just- I’m curious.”  
  
  
She seems to consider the question for a few moments before sighing. “It’s not a common gift and Kane and Diyoza aren’t quite sure how to help me control it. It’s powerful, dangerous even. I’d rather keep it under wraps until they figure something out. I just…,” she swallows hard and Bellamy is taken aback by how vulnerable she looks in that moment. “I don’t want to hurt anybody else.”  
  
  
He nods, decides for some reason not to push further. He didn’t want to break whatever sort of peace they had going between them.   
  
  
They’re walking by the dining room when he asks, “Why’d you sit next to my sister at dinner?”  
  
  
Her eyebrows rise and she glances up at him incredulously. “You have a problem with me doing _that_ too?”  
  
  
He raises his hands up in a placating manner. “No, I’m just- I’m curious.”  
  
  
She breathes out a laugh, “You’re curious about a lot of things.”  
  
  
He shrugs a shoulder. “There’s a lot about you I don’t understand and it irritates me.”  
  
  
She seems to ignore his explanation, focusing on his earlier question instead. “She and I aren’t that different, I think. Both of us have powers that are particularly dangerous. We’re scared of hurting others. We prefer being alone so that we don’t.”  
  
  
This time, his eyebrows go up. “She told you all that?”  
  
  
Clarke shrugs. “I gathered so from when we spoke.”  
  
  
“You spoke to her like _once_ at dinner two days ago.”  
  
  
She smirks at him proudly, “She sat with me at breakfast today as well while you were at class.”   
  
  
“ _She_ sat with you?” Bellamy asks. Octavia doesn’t make an effort with anyone. On the contrary, she makes a conscious effort to stay away from people. _Especially_ people like Clarke Griffin.   
  
  
“Not everyone finds pleasure in treating me like shit, Bellamy,” she says, her face shuttering off a little bit. He doesn’t reply to that, just purses his lips, feeling a sharp stab of guilt.   
  
  
“We’re here,” she says, the main doors of the medical wing in sight.   
  
  
Bellamy nods his head. “How’s your knee?”  
  
  
“Should be fine in a day or so, I think,” she says. The air is heavy again with tension. Bellamy doesn’t understand why he wishes it wasn’t.  
  
  
Professor Cartwright looks up from her desk near the front of the wing when Clarke walks in. She smiles at the two of them and Clarke turns to wave a gloved hand awkwardly at Bellamy. He nods tightly back and leaves.  
  
  
His mind lingers ever so often on her through the rest of the evening and he’s not sure what to think of it, of _her_. When Octavia knocks on his door later and tentatively asks him whether he wants to watch a movie, all thoughts of Clarke Griffin escape his mind and he pulls his sister into his arms, beyond glad that she was ready to be around him again.  
  
  
+++  
  
  
Bellamy and Miller are in the living room playing a game of chess the following Thursday, while Octavia alternates between watching the game and watching the television. It’s a quiet morning, a holiday to celebrate the opening of the school twenty years ago and most of the students are either sleeping in or at breakfast.   
  
  
“O, get it,” Bellamy says when the doorbell rings, his eyes focused on Miller’s next move.   
  
  
“ _You_ get it,” Octavia replies from her sprawled out position on the sofa.  
  
  
“I’m busy.”  
  
  
“So am I.”  
  
  
“For fuck’s sake,” Miller throws up his hands before standing up to check the screen by the front door. Miller reads out, “No weapons, no powers." When guests walk through the front gates, a sensor to their left scans them for weapons and a sensor to their right scans them for mutant abilities. If either feeds back positive, Kane and the other Professors are alerted immediately. "Facial recognition says Abigail Griffin.”  
  
  
“Isn’t that Clarke’s mother?” Octavia asks, perking up.   
  
  
“Yes, it is.” They turn to see Kane hurrying towards them. When he stops to catch his breath and run a hand over his hair to smooth it down, the three students share an amused look.   
  
  
“You look fine, Professor,” Octavia says, letting her smirk shine through.   
  
  
Kane’s eyes narrow and he chastises, “Stop reading my thoughts, Miss Blake.”  
  
  
“I wasn’t,” she challenges, pointing to the metal hairband in her hair. Professor Sinclair and Kane had put their heads together and built the accessory. It helped dampen Octavia’s telepathic and telekinetic abilities significantly, allowing her to control her powers far more easily until she was ready to use them unaided.   
  
  
Kane flushes slightly before clearing his throat and shaking his head. Octavia grins widely, innocently.   
  
  
“She’s here to see Clarke,” Kane explains before tapping the screen and typing in a code that unlocks the door. He opens the door and Abby Griffin stands on the other side in a white blouse and a slim black skirt.   
  
  
With her hair in a braid and mouth unsmiling, Bellamy can see Clarke.   
  
  
“Abby,” Kane says, smiling. She doesn’t smile back and Bellamy wonders whether Clarke learned to frown from her mother. “It’s good to see you again. You’re earlier than I was expecting.” She enters and he shuts the door behind them.  
  
  
She clears her throat, “My meeting ended early. Is Clarke available?”  
  
  
“I believe she’s helping Professor Cartwright in the Medical wing at the moment,” Kane says and Abby’s stoic expression breaks to give way to soft surprise.  
  
  
“Callie Cartwright?” Abby asks.   
  
  
Kane nods, “The very same.”  
  
  
“I wasn’t aware she was a… mutant,” Abby says, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “She said she was moving to Polis and I just assumed she lost touch.”  
  
  
“She didn’t quit her job in Ark Hospital,” Kane says, his voice slightly clipped now. “She was asked to leave when they found out. I invited her to teach anatomy here.”   
  
  
“I see,” Abby says and then her face has shuttered off again. “I hope she is well.”  
  
  
Kane nods and the three students can _feel_ the tension thick in the air. “Clarke should be done in fifteen minutes. You are free to roam around or-“ He seems to have a sudden thought and turns to the three in the living room who suddenly snap their eyes back to their own business. “Why don’t one of our students show you around?” They look up at him and his eyes touch on Miller, then Octavia, then Bellamy.   
  
  
_Please, no-_  
  
  
“Bellamy,” Kane says, cutting through Bellamy’s silent prayers. “Why don’t you show Clarke’s mother around the school? You can end the tour at the medical wing in fifteen minutes.”  
  
  
“Professor-“ Bellamy starts but Kane’s eyebrows rise slightly, daring him to challenge the request. Bellamy bites down his protest. “Yes, Sir.”   
  
  
“I would show you around, but I’ve got a meeting in five minutes,” Kane says to Abby. “However, Bellamy’s one of our best students and I’m sure he will be an equally good host.” Abby nods, glancing at Bellamy, who in any other situation would have flushed at the compliment. “Have a good time, Abby. If you need me, let Bellamy know and he will make sure to find me.”  
  
  
“Thank you, Marcus,” Abby says. After a moment of hesitation, he reaches out and gently squeezes her upper arm before nodding and leaving.   
  
  
Bellamy steps up in front of Abby, “I’m Bellamy. This is my sister, Octavia, and our friend, Nathan.” Abby nods in turn at each of them.   
  
  
“You’re Clarke’s friends?” She asks.  
  
  
Bellamy takes a second too long and Octavia steps in quickly, “Yeah. She’s family.” She sounds so fiercely defensive that it surprises even Bellamy. Abby swallows hard and nods and Bellamy gestures for her to walk with him.  
  
  
He takes her first to the dining hall, which is at the other end of the corridor from the large living room space. She takes the large hall in with curious eyes, taking a second to study almost every of the dozen or so students seated inside, talking in loud voices.  
  
  
“No one’s using their powers,” she states and he scoffs.  
  
  
“Mrs. Griffin-“  
  
  
“Doctor,” she corrects tightly.  
  
  
“ _Doctor_ Griffin- we’re humans first, mutants second,” he replies. “We use our powers when we need or want to but- we do things the same as you would. We need forks and spoons for breakfast, not tentacles.” Her eyes widen at this and he scratches the back of his head, “I’m kidding. None of us have tentacles. At least that I know of...” She nods, finding none of the humour that Bellamy tried to tentatively place into their conversation.   
  
  
They backtrack a few steps and then turn right to take the stairs up to the second floor of the mansion. The main corridor from the landing leads into the five classrooms, three on the right and two on the left. Professor Kane’s office is at the far end, situated above the front door, giving him a clear view of those entering and leaving the premises through the front gates.  
  
  
“It looks different from before,” she comments, eyes scanning the Anatomy classroom.   
  
  
“You’ve been here before?” Bellamy is shocked, eyebrows furrowed together. What would Abby Griffin, the woman who had cast out her own daughter for being a mutant, have been doing at a mutant campus? Did Clarke know?  
  
  
“Once,” she replies quietly. “A long time ago.” She doesn’t explain and he doesn’t think she would even if he asked so they lapse into silence again. He shows her the History & Geography classroom, Literature & Languages classroom, Maths & Sciences classroom and finally, their Study of Mutant Abilities classroom.   
  
  
He then takes her down the stairs by Kane’s office that lead down to the ground floor at the back of the mansion. From where they’re standing now, by a grand stone fountain, the main building is behind them. On their left is a mansion larger than the main building- it's four stories high and houses forty rooms and currently, fifty-two students.   
  
  
“How long do students stay for?” Abby asks as Bellamy walks to their right, out into a large green field with the edges of a lake visible further out. Here, there are a group of students lounging around, some tossing a ball between them and some reading.   
  
  
“Our oldest student is twenty-five. We can stay as long as we want but most students leave once they’ve learnt everything they need to know about their abilities and the world outside. Once they’re ready.”  
  
  
“And your youngest?”  
  
  
Bellamy heads back towards the main building. He decides not to take her to the basketball courts behind the living quarters, beneath which is the hangar bay and jet, and further below the labs and training facilities.   
  
  
“Seven, I think,” Bellamy says as they go past the dining hall once again to take the route to the medical wing.  
  
  
“ _Seven_?” She says, hand tightening around her handbag. “What are they doing here so young?”  
  
  
“They had nowhere else to go,” Bellamy says, beginning to feel angry. “Their families turned their backs on them the second they knew they were mutants. When Professor Kane went knocking on their doors, their parents handed them over without a second thought.”  
  
  
“They’re just _children_ ,” she says and his features harden.   
  
  
“You mean like Clarke?” He practically spits out through gritted teeth. He’s not sure why he’s defending her. Maybe it’s because he can’t _stand_ the fact that the woman in front of him is pointing fingers at others for abandoning their children when she has done exactly the same. Maybe it’s something to do with Diyoza telling them there are enough enemies outside these walls that they should have each other’s backs. Maybe it’s because Octavia has admitted to him that Clarke feels kind of like home and he has never known his sister to feel at home _anywhere_. Maybe it’s a mix of all things combined or perhaps none at all, either way he’s not apologising.  
  
  
Abby doesn’t reply and Bellamy remains silent too, shoulders now tense. When they reach the open double doors of the medical wing, an extension of the main building, Bellamy knocks. Clarke and Professor Cartwright are seated on the floor just inside, papers strewn around them. They look up as Abby walks through the doors.  
  
  
“Mom?” Clarke says, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “I thought you weren’t supposed to arrive till lunch time.” She stands up as Professor Cartwright does so too.   
  
  
“My meeting finished early.”  
  
  
“Where’s Wells?” Clarke asks suddenly, looking around Abby. She looks curious when she spots Bellamy a short distance behind her mother.   
  
  
Abby purses her lips. “He couldn’t make it.”  
  
  
Clarke’s face shutters off and Bellamy sees her lower lip tremble before she takes a deep breath and it’s gone. “He couldn’t make it or Thelonius didn’t let him?”  
  
  
Abby takes a moment to reply. “Thelonius is passing a bill next week and can’t risk his son being found-“  
  
  
“Mingling with mutants?” Clarke asks, her voice wavering.   
  
  
“Please let’s not ruin this with an argument, Clarke,” Abby says. “Not today. Can I at least hug you?” Clarke swallows hard before nodding curtly and her mother crosses the distance between them to put her arms around her. “Happy birthday, Clarke.”   
  
  
Bellamy’s eyebrows rise at this. It was her birthday? No one seemed to know, not Octavia, nor Raven. Monty maybe, but he was probably still asleep.   
  
  
When Abby pulls away, her eyes meet Professor Cartwright’s. The dark haired lady grips the file in her hands a little tighter.   
  
  
“Callie,” Abby says. “It’s good to see you.”  
  
  
Callie nods, not returning the sentiment. “I see you moved on from being a doctor to becoming a senator.”  
  
  
“The opportunity presented itself,” Abby replies.  
  
  
“I hope it’s suiting you,” Callie says. Clarke and Bellamy exchange a glance at the awkward, tense conversation. “I’m sorry about Jake. He was a good man. Marcus misses him dearly.”  
  
  
“Thank you,” Abby says. After a beat of silence, she turns to Clarke. “Maybe we can talk in your room?” Clarke nods before waving goodbye to her professor. “Thank you for showing me around,” Abby tells Bellamy and he bobs his head in response. He meets Clarke’s wary eyes before the two leave the room. Bellamy finds himself wishing he could find a way to help her.   
  
  
When Bellamy turns back to Callie, she’s got her eyes squeezed shut and her hand raised to her head. Bellamy walks over to her and places his hand on her shoulder. She opens her eyes and he’s alarmed to see tears in them.   
  
  
“Professor…” he mumbles, unsure of what to say.  
  
  
“It’s okay,” Callie breathes. “I just didn’t think that the next time I’d see her, I would be nothing but ashamed of her. After what happened with Marcus, you’d think she would have taken a page out of Jake’s book and held Clarke tighter.”   
  
  
Bellamy doesn’t know what she means, doesn’t think it’s his place to ask.   
  
  
So he lets go of her shoulder when she smiles reassuringly at him and asks her whether she needs any help. She accepts gratefully and they work together for the next twenty minutes before he heads back to the living room. Octavia and Miller have been joined by Raven, Monty and Jasper and he drops into the sofa beside his sister.  
  
  
The first thing he says is, “It’s Clarke’s birthday today.”  
  
  
+++   
  
  
They’re having lunch together- Bellamy, Octavia, Raven, Miller, Monty and Harper- when Clarke walks through the dining hall doors with a plate of pasta. Her shoulders are hunched and Bellamy has a feeling that she’s just about holding it together. Octavia follows his line of sight and turns around in time for her eyes to meet Clarke’s. She grins and waves her over to them.  
  
  
Clarke takes a deep breath through her nose and joins them, slipping into the seat across Bellamy.  
  
  
“Happy birthday, Clarke,” Octavia says, putting her cutlery down to wrap her arms around Clarke’s shoulders. She looks surprised and hugs Octavia back lightly. Raven, Harper and Monty come around the table to hug her too and Miller grins at her from beside Bellamy and wishes her. “You should’ve said something to us.”  
  
  
“It wasn’t a big deal,” Clarke says, shrugging a shoulder. “How did you find out?” The others all look at Bellamy and he averts his eyes down to his dinner plate awkwardly. He can feel Clarke’s stare.  
  
  
“How was meeting your mother?” Raven asks and Clarke physically stiffens up.   
  
  
“As expected,” she replies softly, turning her gaze down at the same time Bellamy looks up at her. He’s seen Clarke Griffin acting in many different ways over the past four weeks. He’s never seen her look so _small_.   
  
  
“Sorry,” Raven says, frowning. “Do you have any plans tonight?”  
  
  
“I was going to but…,” she trails off, shaking her head. She bites down on her lower lip and Bellamy wonders if this is about Wells Jaha. “It’s okay,” she says instead, putting a forkful of pasta into her mouth to avoid talking.   
  
  
Bellamy looks to his left to see the others all exchanging worried looks. They lapse into other small talk between themselves, giving Clarke the space she clearly wants. But Bellamy frequently turns his attention to the blonde across him, as does Octavia.   
  
  
Bellamy is alarmed when only five minutes later, her hands begin to shake a little. Her eyes begin darting between her hands as she clenches and unclenches them. Octavia notices too because she reaches out to put her hand on Clarke’s back. But this seems to set Clarke off even more and she releases a harsh breath and stumbles to stand up.   
  
  
“Excuse me please,” she whispers. She moves hurriedly to leave but before he registers what he’s doing, Bellamy catches her gloved wrist. Her frantic eyes snap to him and he’s left staring at her, mouth slightly open to say words he doesn’t know how to formulate.   
  
  
Everyone is staring now, between him and her. Her hands aren’t shaking anymore so maybe he did something right. He stares at her a second longer before releasing her wrist slowly. Shock from the contact wearing off quickly, her features crumple. She grabs her plate and runs out of the room.   
  
  
Nobody really knows what to say. When Monty asks whether anyone knows why she was so upset, Bellamy offers his Wells Jaha explanation. While Raven begins plotting, Octavia turns to Bellamy.  
  
  
“That was nice of you, Bell,” she says, her eyes impossibly soft.  
  
  
“I didn’t help in any way whatsoever,” Bellamy replies, his voice gruff.  
  
  
“Maybe not, but you wanted to,” Octavia says, reaching out to grasp his hand. “We’re going to help her. I know we can.”  
  
  
+++   
  
  
“Fuck, I can hear her crying,” Raven whispers, moving away from Clarke’s door.   
  
  
“She won’t be crying for long,” Octavia says resolutely. “Everyone ready?” She asks the people behind her. They all nod and Octavia knocks on the door. There’s sudden silence from inside before a flurry of movement. After a good twenty seconds, the door opens.  
  
  
Clarke stands there in jeans and a pale pink jumper, hair loose over her shoulders and eyes splotchy and red. She wipes at them before blinking dazedly at the group in front of her.  
  
  
“Surprise?” Raven offers, smiling softly.  
  
  
Clarke stares at them. Raven and Octavia at the front of the group, Octavia carrying a small square present. Miller, Harper, Jasper and Bellamy stand behind them, Jasper holding onto a bunch of colourful balloons and Harper holding a large box.  
  
  
“You guys…” Clarke breathes. “You shouldn’t have.”  
  
  
“Of course we did,” Jasper says brightly, pushing through Octavia and Raven to wrap Clarke in a tight hug. “Happy birthday.” She hugs him back tightly, sniffling into his hoodie before pulling away. She swipes at her eyes, releasing a watery laugh, while the others, except for Bellamy, hug her and walk into her room.   
  
  
“Why are you being so nice to me today?” Clarke suddenly blurts out, catching Bellamy’s arm as he’s passing her.   
  
  
He quirks up an eyebrow at her before letting the corner of his lips rise a bit. “It’s your birthday. You have to be nice to people on their birthday. I don’t make the rules.” He shrugs and he’s surprised to find her smiling at him, releasing his arm to let him pass.   
  
  
Raven and Miller flop onto her neatly made bed and Jasper drops into her easy chair, tying the balloons to the armrest, while the others sit on the floor.  
  
  
“Could Monty not make it?” Clarke asks.  
  
  
Octavia glances down at her watch. 4:14pm. “He should be here any time now. He got caught up with something.” Almost on cue, there’s a knock on the door. Before Clarke can move, Octavia leaps up to answer the door. As they shuffle into the room, Clarke turns around to smile at Monty but her breath gets caught in her throat.   
  
  
Monty and Lincoln are there, smiles on their faces. But it’s the person standing between them that makes tears well up in Clarke’s eyes.   
  
  
“Wells?” She breathes, standing up.  
  
  
“Happy birthday, Clarke,” he grins at her. His eyes drop down to her jumper and he exclaims, “You’re wearing my jumper!” Her face crumples and she flies straight at him, arms wrapping around his neck tightly. He hugs her back with equal vigour, face pressed into her hair, still smiling.  
  
  
When she pulls away, her cheeks are wet and she looks at Octavia, Monty and Lincoln. “I don’t understand…”  
  
  
“It’s your first birthday away from home,” Octavia says softly. “So we thought we’d bring your home to you.” Clarke takes a deep breath and wipes at her eyes with the sleeve of her jumper. “We wanted you to know that we’re here for you.”  
  
  
“I already knew that,” Clarke says, grasping Octavia’s hand. “But how did you bring him here?”  
  
  
“The ability to make portals can be pretty useful,” Monty grins, wiggling his fingers.   
  
  
“I thought you aren’t allowed to travel to the outside without someone-” she trails off, eyes landing on Lincoln now, “-over the age of twenty-two.” She smiles at the two of them. “But how did you know to reach out to Wells?”  
  
  
“Bellamy had a theory,” Octavia answers and Bellamy glares at her from behind Clarke. Clarke spins around to look at him but he averts his eyes. She smiles at him, smiles at everyone else in the room before turning back to Wells.   
  
  
“They kidnapped you from your dad?”   
  
  
“If that was a kidnapping, it was the easiest one in history,” Monty answers. “You should’ve seen how quickly he grabbed his present and asked us to whisk him away.”   
  
  
Wells wraps an arm around her shoulders. “I’ve never been more excited to receive a call from a stranger called Raven Reyes.” He grins at Raven who gives him an enthusiastic thumbs up. “We decided on a meeting point and these guys came and got me. Bloody cool superpower by the way, Monty.”  
  
  
“You should see what the rest of us can do,” Jasper calls out.   
  
  
“Can we cut the cake now, please? Travelling through portals makes me really hungry,” Monty says, moving further into the room to drop onto the floor beside Harper.   
  
  
Lincoln moves to leave, looking slightly awkward, but Clarke touches his arm. “Why don’t you stay too?”  
  
  
“I- I don’t want to impose,” he says, voice deep and caring as she’s always known it to be. Lincoln Woods, the senior most student there at twenty-five.   
  
  
“You won’t be,” Clarke says firmly. “You’re one of us.” He glances at Octavia, who’s smiling at him widely. He accepts the offer graciously, sitting on the floor beside her. Wells sits down on Octavia’s other side and Clarke finds herself beside Bellamy.  
  
  
They cut the chocolate cake Harper had brought in, which they explain they had baked as soon as they were done with lunch. Octavia gives Clarke the present sitting on her lap and Clarke unwraps it to reveal a simple silver frame with a photograph of all of them grinning into the camera. It had been taken last Saturday after a competitive game of football in the fields. Clarke opens Wells’ present and tears up when she withdraws a pair of light pink cotton gloves.  
  
  
“To add some colour to a necessary part of your life,” he explains softly. She nods jerkily, quickly replacing her current pair of black gloves. Bellamy has come to the conclusion by now that her powers manifest from her hands but he is yet to find out what they are. Somehow he hasn’t felt the need to push over the past week.   
  
  
Bellamy sees that Clarke is content just sitting back and watching everyone chat animatedly while eating cake. He sees the way her lips pull into a grin when Wells and Raven lapse into a debate about some new tech that has been invented, sees the way her eyes shine when Octavia and Miller bicker about the best place to put the frame, sees the way her head falls back when she laughs loudly as Monty sends a piece of chocolate cake through a portal on his end which then appears through a portal near Jasper’s wide open mouth, falling straight through.   
  
  
He doesn’t even realise he’s staring until she turns to look at him and he shakes his head, looking away.  
  
  
“You’re unusually quiet,” she says, nudging his knee with her hand. He shrugs, looking around the group before his eyes land on Octavia and Lincoln, sitting closer together than before and talking quietly. Clarke notices. “You look more upset with the fact that Lincoln’s here than with the fact that you have to be nice to me today.”  
  
  
He turns his attention back onto her. “I think he and Octavia have got something going on between them.” His eyes narrow at the thought. Clarke snaps him out of it by tapping his knee sharply.  
  
  
“She’s twenty. She can take care of herself,” Clarke says, slight warning in her voice for him to back down. Her eyes suddenly soften and the back of her fingers press against his knee. “She’s grown up well, Bellamy. You did good.” He wishes he didn’t immediately feel choked up by her words. He has _never_ heard those words from anyone about him. He had taken care of Octavia, _raised_ her, raised them both, without expecting anybody to ever commend him for it. Because he didn’t do it for the praises, he did it for his sister. His family.   
  
  
Yet here was this girl, someone he had done nothing but judge harshly since she arrived. And she was acknowledging what he had spent the last twenty years of his life doing. And he felt _overwhelmed_ by it. By her.  
  
  
_You did good_.  
  
  
+++


	2. Siege

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Welcome back to this story! Hope you are all well. Sorry it took me a while longer than promised to update, work has been really busy and I had no time to sit down and proof read the chapter. Hope its not looking too messy the way I've posted it! I tried my best. Will give it another proofing some time soon. Enjoy this one!! xxx

“Ready for round two?” Bellamy asks Clarke the next day as she walks into the training room exactly on time.   
  
  
“Maybe we’ll make it to the third level this time,” she replies, extending her staff. “Where’s Diyoza, though?”   
  
  
“No idea, she’s usually five minutes early to classes,” he replies, frowning slightly. “She didn’t say anything about cancelling, did she?” Clarke shakes her head.   
  
  
They wait for another five minutes, making slightly awkward small talk, until Bellamy suggests going to her office to check in. Clarke agrees and they’re just about to step out of the room when the doors suddenly slide shut. They frown and turn to each other just as the red light above the door begins flashing. A loud piercing alarm blares out of the speakers fitted in every room and corridor in the school.  
  
  
“Doesn’t that signal that we’re under attack?!” Clarke cries out with her hands over her ears. Bellamy nods, eyes wide. “What do we do?”  
  
  
“What we’ve been trained to do. We stay hidden,” Bellamy says. He looks around before his eyes land on the control room. “But we can do one better.”  
  
  
“Hide _and_ monitor the situation,” Clarke says and he nods. “How do we get up there without leaving the room?”   
  
  
“Same way as Diyoza,” Bellamy says. He holds out his arm and she grasps it unquestioningly. He wonders fleetingly how she can trust him so easily. His eyes meet hers before they focus on the control room. This time, instead of having to run up an ice slope, he simply forms a platform of ice underneath their feet and extends a pillar of ice underneath the platform, lifting them into the air. They reach the control room and stare at the thick glass in front of them. “Now what?”  
  
  
Clarke purses her lips before letting Bellamy’s arm go and placing both palms flat against the glass. They hear a beep before the glass splits apart and they waste no time in jumping into the control room. The glass slides shut again as they stare with wide, terrified eyes at the live CCTV camera feeds on the multiple screens to their left.   
  
  
They see a group of people, all dressed in black, storming through the mansion and pointing rifles at anyone they come across. Their shocked eyes trail to the feed from the dining hall. They watch as Raven bends down to press her palm against the floor but before she can do anything further, the intruders begin deftly firing their rifles, one shot at each of their friends. Clarke stumbles backwards in horror, her back hitting Bellamy’s chest, as Raven, Monty, Miller and Murphy collapse to the floor or slump unconscious in their seats. They watch as three more students are shot in the living room and two are taken down in the corridor outside.  
  
  
Bellamy is breathing hard as he asks, “Are- are they-”  
  
  
“ _No,_ ” Clarke says through gritted teeth, “They aren’t.”  
  
  
“We just _saw-_ “  
  
  
"They _aren’t!_ ” Clarke says forcefully, spinning around to face Bellamy. “We have to believe that. We _have_ to.”  
  
  
He stares at her for a moment that is loaded in unadulterated fear and anxiety before nodding, jaw clenching. Then his eyes widen and return to the screens, searching frantically. “Where’s Octavia?” Clarke turns around again, searching.   
  
  
“There!” She cries, reaching behind her and grabbing the front of his jumper with one hand and pointing at the screen near the middle with her other. Lincoln and Octavia are backing up near the lake, hands entwined tightly between them, as two people in black walk towards them. Lincoln raises his right arm in a sweeping motion. The soil between them and their attackers dislodges and rises from the ground to form a wave of mud and grass. Lincoln drops his arm and the wave crashes down on the strangers, engulfing them. He motions Octavia forward and they begin sprinting towards what Bellamy assumes is the direction of the hangar bay.   
  
  
“Harper and Jasper!” Clarke says, turning her attention to the screen beside the one they were monitoring. They see a woman burst through the doors of the Medbay and take down the two students before shooting Professor Cartwright. “Who are these people?”   
  
  
“Diyoza must be locking down the living quarters,” Bellamy says and they watch as metal walls slide down all around the residence wing, preventing anyone from leaving or entering.   
  
  
“And the classrooms,” Clarke says as metal panels slide down around the classroom windows and doors. Professor Nyko is in the History & Geography class with five students and looks around frantically before turning to his phone. Kane and Indra have gone to Shallow Valley to pick up a pair of mutant siblings. Even with Diyoza in charge, the school is significantly less protected without their headmaster and Indra.  
  
  
They see Sinclair sealing off the underground labs before reaching for his phone. Diyoza is in Kane’s office, which is now surrounded by metal as well.   
  
  
“She isn’t going after the attackers?” Bellamy asks.  
  
  
“If she goes out there without a plan and without backup, she’ll get shot,” Clarke reasons. “She’s no good to us if she’s down too. We have to trust that she knows what she's doing.”  
  
  
“So nine in the main mansion,” Bellamy counts.  
  
  
“Four outside the residence,” Clarke says, staring at the four collapsed bodies lying near the fountain. “Thirteen students down.”   
  
  
“Lincoln and O are safe for now, five safe with Nyko. Two more in the Anatomy classroom. We have to assume that the rest are blocked off in their rooms."  
  
  
“Not all of them,” Clarke says, pointing to the screen showing the CCTV feed of the hangar bay. Gina, a twenty-two year old classmate, is running past the jet with three of their younger students. She stops and ushers two of the children into a supply closet and then the third into one of the larger vents in the wall. She runs around to the other side of the jet and throws open the door to the stairway that leads to Sinclair’s lab. That’s when four people suddenly teleport into the bay.  
  
  
“They’re mutants,” Bellamy says. Gina throws her palms forward, electricity flying forth from them. It hits two of them before they can react, throwing them backwards, but the other two grab onto each other and teleport behind Gina. One knocks the butt of their rifle into her head and she drops to her knees. They fire into her arm and she goes down, eyes sliding shut. “They’re not shooting to kill. If they were, they would have shot her straight through the heart.”   
  
  
They’re so preoccupied with watching the screens and counting their people that they miss the three intruders bursting through the doors of the training room. The woman in the trio flies up to the control room, holding onto her companions.   
  
  
Bellamy and Clarke’s eyes snap up to them the second they appear on the other side of the glass. When the two being held up in the air raise their rifles, Bellamy instinctively ducks, hand grasping Clarke’s arm and pulling her down with him.   
  
  
“I don’t know what they’ve been shooting the others with but these are very real bullets,” Clarke shouts over the noise of the gunfire.  
  
  
An automated voice rings out of a speaker above them: ‘ _Glass integrity at 80%’._  
  
  
Clarke and Bellamy look at each other in panic. Clarke turns to the main door of the control room, the one that leads into a corridor that can take them up to the hangar bay.  
  
  
“We need to get out of here,” she says urgently.  
  
  
 _‘Glass integrity at 60%’_  
  
  
“The two that got Gina are scouting the Hangar Bay. It won’t be long before they find the kids,” Bellamy says. “We have to help them.”  
  
  
“We need to help ourselves first or we’ll go down just like the others,” Clarke says firmly.   
  
  
_‘Glass integrity at 40%’_  
  
  
“If they get into the control room, they’ll have a clear view of the entire school. We can’t let them in,” Clarke says.  
  
  
“How do we stop them?”  
  
  
She hurries over to the console on the right side of the room and boots up the controls for the training simulations. “Ready to find out what level six in Diyoza’s sessions would be like?” She asks before hitting the start key on the programme. The walls in the training room immediately shift and slide, revealing a hoard of cannons, robots and flying metal orbs that immediately begin attacking. The three hovering outside the control room turn their attention to the obstacles that have appeared. They shield themselves with their arms and the woman flies straight towards the exit. Clarke slams her palm down on one of the controls and the doors slide shut, trapping them in.   
  
  
“Where's the control room lock down sequence?” Clarke mumbles, eyes rapidly scanning the multiple programmes.  
  
  
Bellamy nudges her aside and types quickly into the keyboard and within seconds, metal barricades are sliding around the control room, reinforcing the glass. “We need to get out before it locks us in too!” He shouts and they sprint out the door just before it seals shut.   
  
  
They slide into the corridor outside, breathing hard, just as the two men that knocked Gina out appear at the other end of the corridor through the elevator doors. They’re surprised by Bellamy and Clarke and Bellamy takes that moment to shoot blasts of ice at them, taking them out.  
  
  
“To the hangar,” Clarke says, running forward, Bellamy hot on her heels. They push the two fallen attackers into the elevator and Bellamy initiates the elevator lock down by typing a code into the panel beside it. He finds himself supremely thankful that he had paid attention to the school emergency drill the month before. Taking two steps at a time, they run up to the hangar and Bellamy goes straight to the vent and Clarke to the supply closet. When they throw them open, they’re knocked out of the way. Bellamy by the force of a ball of light and Clarke falling backwards to dodge a rogue spike.   
  
  
“It’s okay!” They both shout, lifting their hands up defensively. The attacks immediately cease as the three kids take in the senior students in front of them. Seven year old Christopher flies into Bellamy’s arms and nine and ten year old Charlotte and Fox run towards Clarke.   
  
  
“It’s okay, you’re safe,” Clarke reassures them, arms tight around their shoulders.  
  
  
“Bellamy! Clarke!” They spin around to see Octavia and Lincoln running towards them. “Thank god you’re okay!” Octavia hugs her brother tightly and tears spring to his eyes in relief.   
  
  
“What is going on?” Clarke asks, voice shaking.   
  
  
“I think it's Mcreary and his team. They’re a bunch of escaped convicts,” Lincoln says. “Probably trying to overthrow Kane and take over the school.”  
  
  
“So they aren’t killing the students?” Bellamy asks.  
  
  
“No, but they probably won’t shy away from killing the professors. Do we know where they are?” Lincoln asks.  
  
  
“Cartwright was knocked out in the Medbay,” Clarke says, fearing now that the bullet that had taken down her professor might have been lethal. They update Lincoln and Octavia quickly on where the others are.   
  
  
“Professor Luna?” Lincoln asks worriedly.  
  
  
“She’s not in the school this week, gone home,” Octavia answers. “What’s the protocol for something like this?” She asks Lincoln.  
  
  
“There’s an underground passage that leads to a safe house not far away,” Lincoln says. “First priority for the professors is to get the students to safety, then come back and fight for the school. Sinclair has a way to get to the residences from his lab so he’ll take the students there to the safe house. I think Nyko will have to wait till one of the others release them from the classrooms. But with three Professors away from the mansion and Cartwright down, it’s looking bad."  
  
  
“When are Kane and Indra back? Can we get in touch with them?” Octavia asks.  
  
  
“Diyoza’s probably in touch already. But it’ll take them at least forty-five minutes to get back since they didn’t take the jet,” Lincoln says.   
  
  
“ _Gina_ ,” Bellamy whispers suddenly, eyes flying towards where he suddenly remembers his friend had fallen. They run towards her and he crouches down to press his fingers against her throat. “She’s alive.”   
  
  
“Bell?” Gina whispers, heavy eyelids slowly opening.   
  
  
“Hey, you’re okay,” Bellamy says, helping her sit up. He looks up at Lincoln. “You know the way to the safe house through the passage?” Lincoln nods. “You’ll need to help these guys get there.” He gestures to everyone around him.  
  
  
“What about you?” Lincoln asks, helping Gina stand and putting his arm around her waist to hold her up.   
  
  
“We get Diyoza,” Octavia says.  
  
  
“ _You_ aren’t getting anyone, Octavia,” Bellamy says firmly.  
  
  
“Like hell I’m not. This is my home, I’m not going to just watch it go down.”  
  
  
“And I’m not going to watch you go down with it,” Bellamy says.   
  
  
“If you’re staying, then I’m staying.” Octavia stares determinedly at him. “Besides, Bell, you’re going to need all the help you can get.” She turns her pleading but resolute eyes to Clarke.  
  
  
“She’s right,” Clarke says after a moment of consideration. “We need her.” They both turn to Bellamy, whose jaw tenses. Multiple emotions cross his face before he finally nods tightly.   
  
  
“Fine. We get Diyoza together then. Why isn’t she out here already?”   
  
  
“They’ve put five guards outside her office and two at the staircase. She can’t get out without getting gunned down almost instantly. One against seven isn’t a fair fight,” Octavia replies. “We tried to get her after we realised the school was under attack but there were too many of them.”  
  
  
“Where else are these guys standing post?” Bellamy asks.  
  
  
“In every room and every corridor. They’re not relinquishing control over any part of the school. There are at least two guards on every group of students that have been taken out.”  
  
  
“So we need to take them out one room at a time,” Clarke says.   
  
  
“Without being seen,” Octavia adds. “We need Monty.”  
  
  
“Then let’s try to go get Monty first,” Bellamy says. “Lincoln, will you be okay with them?”  
  
  
Lincoln nods. “Will you be okay alone?” Octavia, Bellamy and Clarke look at each other before nodding. “Okay. Be safe. Once I get to the safe house, Sinclair and I will head back and we’ll make sure Luna, Kane and Indra are on their way too. If you can’t get to the others or Diyoza, just _stay hidden_.” Octavia grabs his arm and pushes onto her toes to press her lips against his cheek.  
  
  
“I’ll see you soon,” he nods, squeezing her hand, and she lets him go.   
  
  
“Okay,” Bellamy says, now just the three of them. “We need to move somewhere that’s not out in the open.” Together, they move carefully to the back of the main mansion, crouching down behind a hedge that they know is a blind spot from the CCTV cameras.   
  
  
“As long as Nyko’s classroom and Diyoza’s office is in lock down mode, Mcreary’s gang won’t be able to get to them. They can’t get through the metal reinforcements and they can’t teleport into the rooms either.”  
  
  
“Which also means we can’t portal into them to get them out of there,” Clarke says.   
  
  
“Yes, but at least they’re safe there,” Bellamy says. “Our priority needs to be-“  
  
  
“Professor Cartwright,” Clarke interrupts. “She needs to be our first priority. If what Lincoln says is true, then the Professors are in more danger than we are.”   
  
  
Bellamy agrees after a moment of thought. “Okay. So first, we get to Callie.”  
  
  
“None of us know the way to the safe house so if Callie’s unconscious, we can’t take her anywhere,” Clarke reasons.  
  
  
“So we put the Medbay in lock down,” Octavia says.   
  
  
Bellamy and Clarke nod and he says, “Once that’s done, we start getting the students free. Once we have Monty, he can create portals to the different rooms and we can get in and get out with the students.”  
  
  
“They’ll be knocked out cold with those bullets,” Clarke shakes her head. “We’ll need to fight the guards on duty to buy us enough time to portal them out.”   
  
  
“We’ll do that then,” Bellamy says. “Once we get the students clear, we try and get Diyoza out.”  
  
  
“All of this is way easier said than done,” Octavia warns.  
  
  
“Everything can go wrong,” Clarke agrees. “But we have to try. We take it one step at a time and be on high alert.”   
  
  
The others nod and Bellamy asks, “How do we signal for Monty to portal to us?” Clarke pokes her head up from the hedge to look over at the dining hall before ducking back down.  
  
  
“We can’t get to the dining hall without being seen and caught,” she says. “If Kane were here, we could have just-“ her eyes snap to Octavia. “We don’t need Kane.”  
  
  
“You want me to connect with Monty’s mind,” Octavia says.  
  
  
“Can you?”  
  
  
“Probably, yeah,” Octavia says. “But I’ll need to take this off-“ Her fingers close around her headband but Bellamy catches her wrist before she can take it off.  
  
  
“Isn’t that dangerous?”   
  
  
“What choice do we have, Bell?” She says, eyes wary. “It’ll be okay.”   
  
  
“As soon as you think you’re losing control, you stop, got it?” He says firmly, releasing her wrist so that she can remove the accessory. She nods before closing her eyes and focusing intently on her task.  
  
  
“All their minds are weak,” Octavia says, “The bullets must have been some sort of tranquilliser.” She pushes her fingertips against her temples and concentrates harder. “Monty!” She whispers forcefully. “Come on!” And then, “I got him.” There’s silence as Octavia communicates with Monty before she finally looks back at Bellamy and Clarke, “He’s not strong enough to portal. The bullets have numbed their abilities. But hang on.” She goes back to talking with Monty, expression serious. Bellamy and Clarke wait anxiously until she looks back at them, “His mind is active but his muscles can’t move enough to create a portal.” She looks determined when she then says, “I’m going to help him.”  
  
  
“What do you mean?” Bellamy asks.  
  
  
“I’m going to connect with his body and make his muscles move to form a portal, all he needs to do is concentrate on forming it,” Octavia explains. “I can do this. _We_ can do this.”  
  
  
“Octavia…” Bellamy whispers apprehensively.  
  
  
“Bell, I got this,” She assures him before closing her eyes again. They wait in tense silence while Octavia works with Monty and Bellamy counts thirty-four seconds before he and Clarke jump in surprise when a purple edged portal appears right by them. They can see straight into the dining room and Bellamy reaches through and grabs Monty while Clarke grabs Raven from under the arms. Two of Mcreary’s men appear at the dining hall doors and begin to run towards them.  
  
  
“Close the portal!” Clarke cries. Just as they get Monty and Raven through onto the grass on their side, Octavia moves Monty’s hand in an arc and the portal closes. The five of them slump onto the grass, limbs tangled.   
  
  
“You did it,” Clarke breathes, looking at Octavia in awe, and the younger girl grins at her tiredly. Suddenly, her expression morphs and she grabs her head. “Octavia?” They watch in horror as a trail of blood leaks out of Octavia’s nose and her eyes lose focus. “Octavia!” Clarke grabs her friend’s shoulders and Bellamy reaches out to cradle his sister’s face, whispering her name frantically. He slides the headpiece back into her hair and she snaps back to reality as quick as she left it, eyes focusing once again.   
  
  
“It’s okay,” she says, but her eyes are fearful and breaths heavy. She swipes at her nose, the blood smudging across the back of her hand. “It’s okay. It’s fine.”  
  
  
“It’s _not_ ,” Bellamy says, grabbing his sister’s arm. “What was that?”  
  
  
“We don’t have time to deal with this,” Octavia says, straightening up and putting on what Bellamy knows is her brave face. “What’s next?”  
  
  
Bellamy and Clarke share a worried glance before Bellamy says, “Monty, we need you to open a portal to the Medbay. We need to get there so we can put it in lockdown and protect those inside.”   
  
  
“I can’t,” Monty mumbles, eyelids heavy as his head rests on Bellamy’s shoulder. “I can’t do it.”  
  
  
“Wait, maybe you don’t have to,” Clarke says suddenly. “There’s a back entrance to the Medbay from just over there,” she nods towards their right. “It’s a hidden door between the main building and the residences.”   
  
  
“It didn’t get locked down?” Octavia asks.  
  
  
“Hopefully not,” Clarke says. “Octavia, you know the lockdown code, right?” She nods. “Then you need to go to the Medbay, lock it down from the inside and protect the door long enough for the lock down sequence to come into action. Make sure you’re on the inside when the doors slide shut.”  
  
  
“I can lock it down and come back,” Octavia says.  
  
  
“You can't,” Clarke responds, shaking her head. “The journey from the lockdown panel by the front doors to the back entrance is too long to make it in time. And if you’re going to be fighting Mcreary’s men out of the way, then you definitely won’t make it in time.”  
  
  
“So you go in, hit the lockdown sequence, ward off the guards and make sure you’re on the inside when the reinforcements fall into place,” Bellamy says. “Sound good?”  
  
  
Octavia takes a deep breath and nods. “Okay.”  
  
  
Bellamy presses a firm kiss into her hair. “Be careful, O.”  
  
  
“You too.”  
  
  
They wait for the guard patrolling the outside of the buildings to disappear before she sprints over to where Clarke has said the backdoor is. She disappears through the door and the four of them look back at each other.  
  
  
“Can you both fight?” Bellamy asks Raven and Monty, though he knows the answer already. Raven shakes her head, eyes hooded, and Monty does the same.  
  
  
“We can’t win this,” Clarke suddenly blurts out. They look at her. “Bellamy and I can’t fight twenty violent convicts alone, especially not if he’s the only one with powers.”  
  
  
“He doesn’t have to be,” Raven mumbles.   
  
  
“What?”  
  
  
“He doesn’t have to be the only one with powers,” she says and then locks eyes with Clarke. “Take mine.”  
  
  
Clarke stares at her and Bellamy’s eyes dart between them, confusion setting in. She finally whispers, “Raven, _no_.”  
  
  
“It’s the only way,” Raven wheezes out. “You have a fighting chance with his powers _and_ mine.”  
  
  
“If I lose control, I could put you in a coma, or _worse_ ,” Clarke says, shaking her head.   
  
  
“If Mcreary wins, we’re as good as dead anyway,” she says. She reaches out a trembling hand and grasps Clarke’s gloved fingers. “I trust you.”  
  
  
“That’s not enough, Raven!”   
  
  
“Then maybe someone watching your back is,” she says, eyes turning to Bellamy, who looks back warily. “Get Bellamy to pull your hand away so you’re not draining too long.” Clarke looks at Bellamy and then back at Raven.  
  
  
“It could work,” she says finally. She takes a deep breath and then says, “Okay. Okay.” She looks at Bellamy. “In five seconds, you need to pull me away from Raven. But I need the five seconds, no matter what you’re seeing.”  
  
  
“I don’t understand.”  
  
  
“You will. Five seconds, okay?” He nods jerkily and she takes a deep breath before pulling off the glove on her right hand. Fingers shaking, she reaches out to Raven’s face. The dark haired girl keeps her eyes open and focused on Clarke, confident where Clarke wasn’t. Finally, her fingers touch Raven’s cheek.   
  
  
Bellamy’s eyes widen when Raven’s skin starts paling instantly, the veins in her face getting clearer and angrier every second. She begins gasping for breath and Clarke has her teeth grit together tightly, eyes watering. But he counts, no matter the scene in front of him. And on the fifth second, his fingers close around Clarke’s arm and he pulls it away from Raven. With a gasping breath, Clarke falls back, hand cradled against her chest. Raven slumps into the grass, unconscious.  
  
  
“Is she breathing?” Clarke whispers, panicked and tears slipping down her cheeks. Bellamy moves forward and presses his fingers against Raven’s throat and he nods.  
  
  
“Slow but it’s there.”  
  
  
“Okay,” Clarke says, nodding in an attempt to reassure herself. She swipes at her tears. “Okay.”  
  
  
  
“You both need to portal,” Monty says before Bellamy can ask Clarke about what he just witnessed.   
  
  
“I thought you didn’t have the energy to,” Bellamy says.  
  
  
“No, but she does,” Monty says, eyes trained on Clarke. “Once you can portal, take me and Raven to the jet. Every student you save, portal them to the jet. We’ll be safe there.” Clarke stares at him before nodding.  
  
  
She turns to Bellamy, “Five seconds.”  
  
  
He wants to ask questions but he knows he’ll find the answers out soon so instead he just replies, “Five seconds.” She reaches out and touches Monty’s face and Bellamy waits for five seconds before pulling her hand away. Monty slumps into Raven, eyes fluttering shut.  
  
  
“Now what?” Bellamy asks.  
  
  
“Now we portal them to the jet,” Clarke says. She closes her eyes, concentrates and then arcing her hands in front of her in a formation Bellamy has seen Monty carry out, a purple portal appears in front of them, the inside of the jet visible to them on the other side.   
  
  
Bellamy finds it next to impossible to _breathe_. So that’s what Clarke could do. Absorb others’ gifts.   
  
  
“Help me get them through,” Clarke says, snapping him out of his awe. They drag Monty and Raven through the portal and into the jet before returning to the grass. “Where to first?”   
  
  
“We need a vantage point,” Bellamy says. “We should try to get the four by the fountain first.” Clarke nods before opening up a portal to the roof of the main building.   
  
  
“I think the guards are patrolling more frequently and their defences are up after they saw us take Raven and Monty,” Clarke says, peering over the edge of the roof to look down at the centre lawn. “They know we’re out here.”   
  
  
“So what’s our plan?” Bellamy asks. “You distract, I shoot?”   
  
  
Clarke looks at him, “That might just work.” He raises an eyebrow, turning to her. “If I take them from the open-side and hit them with a tremor, they’ll be distracted enough for you to ice them. Once they’re down, we portal the four to the jet.”  
  
  
“There are two guards patrolling around the buildings,” Bellamy says. “We wait for them to get to the hangar bay and then we take those three down,” He nods at the three guards standing post by the four fallen students. “Here,” he opens his hand and on his palm sit two ear-pieces. “Grabbed them from the jet.” Clarke slips one into her ear and switches it on and he does the same.  
  
  
They wait until the patrolling guards are entering the hangar bay before nodding at each other. Clarke opens a portal and goes through it, emerging on the side of the centre lawn that leads out to the lake. The three men immediately spot her and turn to her and she drops to one knee to send violent tremors through the ground. They waver on their feet long enough for Bellamy to shower blocks of ice onto them, knocking them out. He jumps onto a disc of ice and meets Clarke by the four barely conscious students’ bodies. She creates a portal through which they can see the inside of the jet. Together, they heave the four bodies through the portal and into the jet.   
  
  
“We gotta go!” Bellamy says urgently as they see three guards running towards them from inside the main building and two from the hangar bay. Clarke closes the portal to the jet and opens another to the roof and she grabs Bellamy’s arm and pulls him through. They land roughly on the roof and straighten up quickly. “Who next?”  
  
  
“The two in the front living room,” Clarke decides. “But it’s going to be more heavily guarded than out here.”   
  
  
“What if I create a distraction near the dining hall? They’ll divert their forces towards me and you can go into the living room and get the kids out,” Bellamy says.  
  
  
“Is separating really such a good idea? We’re… we’re stronger together,” Clarke says and he stares at her weary blue eyes.   
  
  
“We have to,” he says and before he can talk himself out of it, he grasps her upper arm. Her eyes dart to where his fingers are gently gripping her sleeve. “It’ll be okay.” She looks back at him and nods, sucking in a deep breath.   
  
  
“Be careful,” Clarke says. “If they have you cornered, tell me and I’ll come for you.” She touches her earpiece as a reminder that they can talk through them.   
  
  
“Will do, you too,” he says. “I can make my way from the roof. You take a portal to the hedge near the front door where you can stay hidden till you hear them moving towards me. You know the one?” She bobs her head in confirmation. “Okay, good luck.”  
  
  
“You too.” He releases her arm and she portals away. Rolling his shoulders, he opens the door to the stairway and runs downstairs. The stairs lead down to the staff room kitchen and he enters to find a man standing by the front door, having not noticed Bellamy yet. He quietly moves towards the man, grabbing a tea-towel on the way. With one swift movement, he loops the towel around the man’s neck and pulls him into the kitchen, the door swinging shut. Clasping a hand over the man’s mouth to quieten him, he creates a layer of ice over the man’s body, engulfing him.   
  
  
He knows he might have just killed a man but he doesn’t have time to think about it. He _can’t_. His friends are in danger, his _home_ is in danger. And he had to come through for Clarke.   
  
  
“Status?” Her voice rings through his ear.   
  
  
“Working on it,” he replies, moving through the door carefully. His only option was to create a distraction near the dining hall so he heads in that direction. As soon as he enters the corridor, he’s spotted. “Get ready, Clarke.”   
  
  
“How many people on you?” Her worried voice rings out.  
  
  
 _Too many_ , he notes, counting two at the dining room entrance and two by the staircase. “Don’t worry about it. Just concentrate on getting the kids.” He backs up a few steps and the four walk closer, hands tightening around their rifles.   
  
  
“Stay where you are and you won’t get hurt,” one of the women say, lifting her rifle to her shoulder.  
  
  
“Funny,” he says, raising his hands. “I was about to say the same thing.” He leaps aside to dodge their bullets while throwing blasts of ice at them. Within a few seconds, he knows none of them are mutants or they would have used their powers by now. He runs towards them, icing two of their rifles and rendering them useless. The ground beneath him starts shaking and he steadies himself faster than the others, knocking the one on his left over with a kick to the stomach before spinning around and flipping another.   
  
  
“I got them,” Clarke’s panting voice comes through. “Both guards in the living room are down too. Tremored one and sapped the other. Non-mutant but got his gun.”  
  
  
“I’m heading your way,” Bellamy says, throwing up an ice wall between him and the other two guards before sprinting towards Clarke. She throws him the rifle the second he slides into view.  
  
  
“Keep them here, I’m going after Miller and Murphy,” she says.  
  
  
“There’ll be more guards by now,” he warns her just as the two guards from the outside corridor run into the living room, followed by two more.   
  
  
“See you on the other side,” Clarke says before portalling away. He fights hard and strong, executing every move Indra and Diyoza had ever taught them. One of the lot are mutants, shooting spikes from his body that graze Bellamy multiple times.   
  
  
“Got them?” He asks, taking one down with the rifle on his shoulder. But he can hear Clarke breathing hard on the other side and knows she’s probably in a battle of her own.  
  
  
“I got Murphy through but there are three on me now,” Clarke says before releasing a feral cry and then saying, “Two now." He slams in the code on the screen by the door and the front door clicks open. He pushes through backwards and stumbles into the front yard. He spots something by the driveway on the left.  
  
  
“I have a really bad idea,” he tells Clarke.  
  
  
“Do it!” She cries back and he knows she’s struggling to throw the two off. Not like he was doing any better.  
  
  
 _Desperate times_ , he thinks to himself before firing blocks of ice at the three charging towards him. He manages to knock one out of the way and throws up a wall just as the mutant sends multiple spikes in his direction. They lodge into the wall. He spins around and sprints towards the convertible parked by the front gates. He leaps into it and hits a code in the dashboard. The plush red car hums to life just as the two guards appear again, one shooting bullets and the other shooting spikes. He ducks as they hit the windshield and he hits a red button on the dashboard. Two large firing cannons appear on either side of the car and he hits the button again to deploy them. The two guards leap to the side and Bellamy turns the car in the direction of the main building just as three more guards appear at the front door.   
  
  
“Kane’s going to kill me,” he mutters.  
  
  
“Bellamy, I’ve got two more now! I can’t take them!” Clarke cries.   
  
  
“Get away from the back windows!”   
  
  
“On it!”   
  
  
Slamming his foot down on the accelerator, the car moves in full speed, still firing, and crashes straight into the back wall of the dining hall, breaking through the glass windows and wall. The debris flies at him, scratching his face and arms as he ducks down behind an arced wall of ice around him.   
  
  
“Get Miller _now!_ ” Bellamy yells. “And portal out with him! I’ll run to the jet!” He leaps out of the car and starts running in the direction of the jet, hoping to make it to them before the guards make it to him.   
  
  
But he’s met with two guards running in his direction from the hangar bay. He spins around but there are another two guards behind him as well. He swears and swerves direction, running through the door between the residences and medical wing, the one Octavia took. The mouth of one corridor has been sealed shut, probably in lock down with the Medbay. He runs through the corridor on his left.  
  
  
“Bellamy, where are you?”   
  
  
“Currently being chased by four guards,” he replies tersely, ducking down as a bullet goes whizzing past him. He turns, throws up a wall and then continues to run.   
  
  
“Are you near the jet?”  
  
  
“Not anymore,” he replies, taking two steps at a time up the stairway leading to the roof. “Are you all okay?”  
  
  
“We’re all okay,” Clarke confirms. “Bellamy, the guards in the dining hall were talking about a bomb… They don’t think they can take over the school, so they’re going to blow it up. You have to come back _now_.” His blood runs cold.   
  
  
“I can’t make it, Clarke,” Bellamy says. “I’m on the roof with nowhere to go. Four guards behind me and two waiting down at the fountain.”  
  
  
“I’m coming for you,” Clarke says.   
  
  
Before he can reply, he hears Monty through the earpiece, probably having picked up one more from the jet. He’s talking to Clarke but his voice rings out clearly in Bellamy’s ear.   
  
  
“Clarke, you’ve already made at least ten portals. My powers aren't strong enough to make more than that in the span of an hour, not without more training. The most I’ve made is eight. You portal out of here and you may not be able to portal back in.”  
  
  
“Clarke, _stay_ ,” Bellamy warns. He locks the door of the roof he had just burst through and freezes the entire doorway best he can. But he knows it won’t hold for long. He was rapidly running out of energy, the ice looking weaker than normal.   
  
  
“I’m not leaving you behind,” Clarke says firmly and he can almost picture the fire in her eyes. He just never thought it would be for him.   
  
  
“Clarke, you’re not coming back out,” Bellamy says, backing up as the guards begin attacking the other side of the door.   
  
  
“Good thing I don’t take orders from you,” Clarke says. “Raven, can you fly the jet? Good. If we’re not back in five minutes, I want you to take it up and away. Get in touch with Sinclair and go to them.”  
  
  
“Be careful, Clarke,” he hears Raven say. He echoes the sentiment in his head, wishing she wasn’t coming back out. If he went down, at least he went down saving his friends. Hopefully his sister would make it out and the others would take care of her.  
  
  
The ice wall shatters and the door blasts open. Four men climb onto the roof. Bellamy creates an ice shield, holding it up in front of him.   
  
  
“We could use you, you know,” Bellamy realises the man in front of him is Mcreary. He has seen him on the news before. “You’d be an asset to our team.”  
  
  
“Bellamy, jump off the roof on the side of the fountain,” Clarke says, voice strained.  
  
  
He doesn’t question it. He doesn’t need to. She risked her life to come back out for him. She wouldn’t do anything to get him killed. So if she was asking him to jump, he sure as hell would.   
  
  
He backs up slowly as Mcreary tries to talk him into joining their team, but his heart is thumping so loudly in his ears that he can barely hear him. The back of his feet touch the low wall surrounding the rooftop.   
  
  
“You have nowhere to go, boy,” Mcreary says. “Give it up now.”  
  
  
Taking a deep breath in through his nose, he turns sharply and leaps over the wall, diving off the roof. He doesn’t fall for long, feels the tingling sensation of a portal wash over him only seconds after. And before he knows it, he’s landing on grass. He looks up to see Clarke standing beside him, one hand sending tremors out and holding off two guards, the other having just made the portal that saved his life. He stares at her, breathing hard. Sweat is dripping down the sides of her face, her teeth are clenched tightly, there’s blood on her jumper and he’s not sure whose it is and there’s blood leaking out of her nose. At one point, not long ago, he thought she didn’t have any powers worth using, thought that she was a liability to them, that she was weak. But he couldn’t have been more wrong. She was probably the strongest of them all.  
  
  
“We have to get somewhere safe,” she says. Her voice is cracked, she’s exhausted. He’s exhausted from using his own powers for a prolonged period of time, he can’t imagine what she must be feeling like, using two abilities that aren’t even her own.   
  
  
“Can you portal _again_?” Bellamy asks, getting to his feet. Mcreary’s men are gone from the roof, probably running down towards them. Clarke drops her tremors the second the two guards collapse.   
  
  
“I have to,” she turns her eyes towards him and every line in her face is screaming that she’s too tired to do anything more. “Where to?”   
  
  
“The stairway leading up to the roof from the back entrance of the Medbay,” Bellamy decides. “Mcreary’s men would have been gone by now.”  
  
  
“Hopefully,” Clarke says, swiping at her nose with her sleeve. She raises her arms to make a portal. Her movements are stilted and tears well up in her eyes with the effort but the purple ring appears. When they emerge on the other side, she drops to her knees and pushes the heels of her palms into her eyes.   
  
  
“Clarke,” he says softly, hand on her shoulder.   
  
  
“The metal reinforcements might not hold out against the bomb,” she whispers, dropping her hands. “We need to get Diyoza out so she can get the others out of lock down and get them to the safe house. I don’t know how much time we have. We can’t do this alone...”   
  
  
“Yes, we can,” Bellamy says firmly, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt.  
  
  
“We’re just two inexperienced _kids_ , Bellamy,” she replies, tears spilling down her cheeks. His grip on her shoulder tightens.   
  
  
“And yet we saved fourteen lives and have taken down at least sixteen armed convicts.”  
  
  
“You still have hope?” She whispers, looking up at him.  
  
  
“We still breathing?” He replies, the corner of his lip turning up slightly in a reassuring expression. She smiles weakly back at him, nodding. He moves the hand clasped on her shoulder out in front of her and she grasps it, allowing him to pull her up to her feet.  
  
  
“What’s our plan?” She asks.  
  
  
“If we’ve taken out around fifteen guards, then there can’t be that many left. Mcreary dropped his position to come after me on the roof, which means he doesn’t have a lot of guards left standing.”  
  
  
“They must be splitting their forces now- some at the bomb and the rest by Diyoza. They know the second she’s out, they’re done,” Clarke says. “How about this- I go near the fountain side and draw most of their fire, get most of their guards towards me. That’ll clear most of your way to Diyoza and-”  
  
  
“Not a chance,” Bellamy cuts through, eyes narrowing. “Clarke, you may be able to draw their fire but without back up and your powers weakening, you won’t survive it.”  
  
  
“But at least it’ll buy you enough time to-“  
  
  
“I said no,” he says firmly. “You’re crazy if you think I’m going to let you do that.”  
  
  
“What’s our other option?”  
  
  
“We go in and fight the men outside Diyoza’s office together. We only need to take down a few for Diyoza to get the clearing she needs to get out,” Bellamy says. “You said it yourself, Clarke, we’re stronger together.”  
  
  
She stares at him before nodding, reaching up to swipe at her eyes. “Together then.”   
  
  
They find five of Mcreary’s men guarding Kane’s office door. Backs pressed together, they manage to take down two, which is the clearing Diyoza needs to take the office out of lock down and meet them outside. She seals the office off again while taking out the third guard. The fourth goes down when Clarke, Bellamy and Diyoza all strike him at the same time. The fifth surprises them by dropping his rifle and taking off his mask and helmet. Diyoza recognises him immediately as Zeke Shaw, the son of one of her best friends during her time in Mcreary’s ring. Another guard appears from the corridor and before anyone can even blink, Zeke has shot him down.   
  
  
Together, they take down Mcreary and the rest of his few guards in the living room, Diyoza single-handedly defeating Mcreary while Bellamy, Clarke and Zeke take one guard each.   
  
  
Kane and Indra sweep in almost immediately after and once Kane has located the bomb by delving through Mcreary’s mind, Indra instructs Bellamy to freeze the bomb. They go out into the front lawn and Indra creates a force-field around the bomb and Clarke portals it in the last few seconds up into the sky. Despite the ice, the force field and the height, the explosion shatters all the windows in the front half of the house. Kane stands in front of Bellamy and Diyoza stands in front of Clarke, arms outstretched and their bodies shielding their students. Even then, Bellamy can feel the intense heat of the explosion prickling his skin. None of them say it but they’re all wondering what would have become of their home if the bomb went off within it.  
  
  
“I guess this means classes are cancelled?” Clarke says, breaking the heavy silence in the front lawn with a weak smile. In a surprising show of affection, Diyoza pulls Clarke into a tight hug. She then turns to Bellamy and does the same.  
  
  
“I don’t know what to say to both of you,” she says, one hand grasping Bellamy’s arm and the other holding Clarke’s. “What you did was reckless and stupid and could have gotten you both killed. But it didn’t and you didn’t just save _all_ our lives, you also saved our home. I couldn’t be more proud.”  
  
  
“I don’t know how I can ever thank you both,” Kane says, stepping towards them. Bellamy swallows hard when he sees tears in Kane’s eyes. The man was close to returning to his home to find it _gone,_ along with three of his closest friends and at least eight of his students.   
  
  
“You don’t have to thank us, Professor,” Clarke says softly when Bellamy is unable to find his voice. “There was no way we could sit back and watch our only home be taken, no way we could see our family fall.”   
  
  
“Where are the other students and professors?” Indra asks and it is a rare moment that their normally stoic professor looks weary.  
  
  
“They’re alright. All of them.” Kane speaks before Clarke or Bellamy can speak into their earpieces. “Your earpieces fried with the explosion so Monty assumed the worst but they’re glad to know we’re alright.” It doesn’t surprise Bellamy to know that Kane had mentally checked in with the rest of his staff and students the second they were in the clear.  
  
  
“The house is going to take some work,” Diyoza says, staring at the shattered windows and chaotic living room.   
  
  
“Yeah, especially because someone drove a car through the back wall of the dining room,” Clarke says and Bellamy squeezes his eyes shut, cringing.   
  
  
“What?” Kane exclaims, looking between the two of them. And then slowly, “Which car?”  
  
  
Bellamy opens his eyes a crack, and says, “It might have been your baby.”  
  
  
“You drove my convertible through the side of my mansion?” Kane asks, eyes wide. Bellamy nods apologetically but is surprised when Kane barks out a laugh and claps his hand on Bellamy’s shoulder. “One more thing to get fixed then.” His expression sombers and he says, “At least we’re all alive.”  
  
  
“Do we know how Mcreary got in and how he knew that the school was less protected today?” Indra asks.  
  
  
“I might be able to answer that.” They turn to Zeke, who they almost forgot was there. “There was a kid called Dax who was apparently feeding Mcreary intel for the past few months. He was part of Egilius before he came here. I had no idea we were going to attack until Mcreary was putting the entire force in a couple of vans and driving here. Otherwise I would have warned you.” He directs the last sentence to Diyoza, who nods.   
  
  
“At least you’re finally free of him,” She says.  
  
  
“Finally,” Zeke breathes, swallowing hard.   
  
  
“Perhaps we can find a home for you here instead,” Kane says, smiling at Zeke, who nods back looking choked up. He turns to Diyoza and Indra, “Make sure Nyko keeps an eye on Dax until we know what to do with him.”   
  
  
The next few hours are spent bringing the senior students back while the young ones remain in the safe house with Nyko and Luna, who returns shortly after. Callie, Clarke and Lincoln tend to all those who had been hit with tranquillisers or wounded during the siege and the others, under the leadership of Sinclair and Raven, try and make some quick fixes to the building. Kane and Indra put up a new set of defences around the perimeter of the mansion for the night before telling everyone to call it a day and get some rest. The residence building, luckily, remains completely untouched and secure.   
  
  
“Kane wants to check in with me so you guys go ahead,” Octavia says, kissing Bellamy on the cheek and hugging Clarke tightly before heading towards their headmaster’s office. The whole group walk together, dropping off one person at a time to their respective rooms until it’s just Raven, Monty, Clarke and Bellamy.  
  
  
“You were incredible today, Clarke,” Monty says as they reach his room, Raven’s right across. “Bellamy, you were amazing too, of course but… Clarke, to use both mine and Raven’s powers the way you did…”  
  
  
“Your dad would be really proud of you,” Raven says and tears well up in Clarke’s eyes. She takes a deep breath and smiles, wiping her eyes.  
  
  
“Thank you. I couldn’t have done it alone,” she says this with a glance at Bellamy, who’s staring at her already. When she lowers her eyes, she catches sight of his arm. “Bellamy, you’re bleeding!” She grasps his arm and turns it towards her and sure enough, there’s a dark wet patch on his sleeve.   
  
  
“It’s nothing,” he mumbles, attempting to take his arm back but she holds tightly to his wrist.  
  
  
“Didn’t Callie check it out?” Raven asks.  
  
  
“She was busy enough with everyone else,” he says.   
  
  
“I’ve got a first aid kit in my room,” Clarke says. “I’ll have a look.” He opens his mouth to protest but she gives him a glare, “Non-negotiable. Come on.”  
  
  
“Hey,” Raven calls as they begin to head further down the corridor to Clarke’s room. They turn. “You both make one hell of a team.” She winks at them before disappearing into her room. Bellamy swears that Clarke’s cheeks turn a little pink and he scoffs out a laugh before continuing down the corridor after her.   
  
  
She opens her door and makes him sit on the edge of her bed and he peels his jumper off while she fetches her first aid kit. The whole situation feels strangely intimate and perhaps in another time, Bellamy would have felt weird about it but the sheer exhaustion is setting deep into his bones and honestly, he kind of just wants to fall backwards and fall asleep on her soft sheets.   
  
  
He whistles at the sight of her fully equipped gigantic first aid kit. “You’ve got a whole Medbay in here.”   
  
  
She smiles but there’s an underlying pain in her eyes that he catches through her tired state. “My mom gave it to me when… when I was packing to leave. She said it might help.” She releases a hollow laugh. “I didn’t need a damn first aid kid, I needed my mom. But I wasn’t going to be a rich brat and throw it out the second I left home just because I was angry at her. It’s an excellent kit and she _was_ right, it would help.”  
  
  
“Kane and your parents were friends, weren’t they?” He asks because he’s not really sure what to say about her mother.  
  
  
“Yeah,” she nods, pulling out an antiseptic wipe and beginning to wipe at the large deep gash in his upper arm. “Kane said he and my dad were best friends. When Kane was disowned by his family and friends, dad was the only one who stood by him. He helped him get by for the first few years and then when his grandparents died and left a gigantic fortune for him, dad helped him set up the house.”  
  
  
“ _This_ house?” He winces as she begins cleaning out the wound itself and she mumbles an apology.   
  
  
“Yeah,” she continues. “He set up a fairly secretive division in his company to supply tech to this place.” Her eyes light up when she speaks, a soft smile on her face. “I had no idea, of course. And mom never told me. Sinclair headed up the division, dad knew he was a mutant so they worked together. When dad died, the division fell apart because none of the new board members wanted it to continue so Sinclair quit, picked up the tech that dad left behind for him and moved here.”  
  
  
“So when you found out you were a mutant…” He’s curious and she’s talking and doesn’t seem to mind so he asks.   
  
  
“I only found out a month ago,” Clarke says. Her cheeks turn pink when she says, “I was kissing a girl when my powers came into action.” Bellamy’s eyes widen and her own eyes grow sad as she continues, “She had to be taken to the hospital and she was there for a week before she came to. Mom freaked out more about the fact that I was a mutant than the fact that I was bi and told me she would start looking for a cure. When I said I didn’t want a cure for my abilities, she said then I had to find my own solution to this problem and that until I found it, I should probably stay out of town. Wells said that he had heard mentions of Kane’s school from overheard conversations of his dad’s and I looked him up and got in touch. When Kane showed up at my doorstep, mom was shocked but accepted that this was my answer to her unspoken ultimatum.”   
  
  
“Our abilities aren’t a problem that need a solution,” Bellamy says as Clarke ties the ends of the bandage up.   
  
  
“ _I_ know that,” Clarke says. She lifts his sleeve up a little to find another wound and begins to clean it up. “All of us here know that but… it’s harder for those outside these walls to comprehend that.”  
  
  
“You’re defending them?” He frowns.  
  
  
“I’m not saying what she did wasn’t wrong,” She says. “Nobody should be abandoned for what they can’t control. They should never be told to find a solution because it’s not a problem to begin with. But people are raised to believe differently. My mother was raised by parents and a society that drilled into her that mutants are an abomination, that they’re dangerous. You can’t change your thoughts overnight and it’s silly to think otherwise. There are even _mutants_ out there who are looking for a cure, mutants who think they shouldn’t be alive because of who they are because of what they’ve been raised to believe. But that being said, it doesn’t mean you can’t change at all. You _have_ to change to be the best versions of yourself and to make the world the best version of itself. I can only hope that one day, people like my mom _do_ change. I was hoping her daughter being a mutant would be enough for her to see things differently but… I guess it wasn’t.”   
  
  
“Raven was right though,” He says. She glances down at him as she wraps his wound up. “Your dad would be really proud of you.” She swallows hard and blinks away tears as she ties up the bandage. “You did good today.”  
  
  
She rolls his sleeve back down and looks at him and he suddenly realises how close she is to him. “ _We_ did good.” She steps away from him and he lifts his jumper to put it back on when she catches his arm. “It’s soaked in blood and dirt.”  
  
  
“Octavia’s borrowed my only other jumper,” he says. She looks disapprovingly at him, though he’s not sure _why_ , it’s not like it was his fault Octavia stole his jumper the same day their school was attacked. She walks over to her armchair and tosses something in his direction. He catches it and looks down to see her pink jumper. Rather, Wells' pink jumper.  
  
  
“Borrow that until you’ve washed yours,” she says, putting her materials back into her kit.  
  
  
He wonders if he should give it back and go to Miller or Raven for one instead. But he’s knackered and cold and it looks warm and comfortable and smells like Clarke and he’s too tired to think of the implications of that last part so he just pulls it on with a quiet, “Thanks.”  
  
  
She walks him to the door and leans against the doorway as he steps out. “Hey, Bellamy?” He looks at her, pulling himself away from the distraction of how unbelievably soft the jumper is. It’s probably worth more than all of his and Octavia’s belongings put together. “We _do_ make one hell of a team.”  
  
  
He feels a smile stretch across his lips, the first genuine one he’s ever shown Clarke, and ducks his head. He looks back up at her when he says, “Yeah, we do. Think Diyoza’s still going to make us come in for extra sessions on Friday?”  
  
  
Clarke snorts, “We’d kick that simulation into level 20.”   
  
  
He smiles wider, laughing, before beginning to walk backwards away. “Goodnight, Clarke.”  
  
  
“ ‘Night, Bellamy,” She says, eyes soft as she gives him a small wave. He finds himself smiling all the way back to his room.  
  
  
When he walks into their floor’s shared kitchen the next morning for breakfast in the pink jumper, Raven opens her mouth almost immediately and he points a finger warningly at her.   
  
  
“Don’t say a damn thing.” She smirks the whole way through breakfast.   
  
  
+++ 


	3. Phoenix

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Here is my next update! SO turns out I had a lot more to write than I thought, a lot lot lot more to explore in this universe than I originally intended. So I have extended this story from 3 chapters to 6. And the chapter naming has changed too- previously, it was supposed to go Students, Warriors, Heroes. But now I've decided to change the chapter titles to single words that I feel describe the whole chapter in a meaningful way.  
> Thank you thank you thank you to all those who have been giving my story a chance, enjoying it, kudos and bookmarking it, and leaving reviews!!! Reading your thoughts and feelings have been the BEST thing ever, and it's honestly been inspiring me so much, which is why I enjoyed writing this chapter sooo much. I really felt more connected to it than I was before. So enjoy this! 
> 
> PS: On request of one of my lovely reviewers, the end notes will have the characters' powers listed, so its easy to keep track of ;)

“Clarke,” Octavia says and the girl in question splits away from the group to stand behind Octavia.  
  
  
“No, that’s not fair!” Charlotte exclaims from behind Miller. “Mom and dad don’t get to be on the same team.”   
  
  
“Mom and _what_ now?” Bellamy asks, wide eyes glancing quickly down at Clarke, who looks equally confused.   
  
  
“Don’t you know?” Raven says with a cheshire grin from beside Miller. “Ever since you teamed up to beat up baddies and save all our lives, the kids have been calling you both mom and dad.”  
  
  
“Not just the kids,” Jasper offers. “Monty and I call you that too.”  
  
  
  
“ _Why_?” Bellamy says. He can feel heat rise to his cheeks and hopes to _god_ it isn’t obvious.   
  
  
“In case you haven’t noticed, none of us really have families to go back to,” Raven says. “And Clarke’s always getting us to eat and shower on time and you’re always telling us off for staying up too late and staring at our phones too much.”  
  
  
Bellamy looks down at Clarke but is surprised to see her with an amused smile. “We’re not going to be able to make you stop, are we?” She asks.  
  
  
“Hell, no,” Irina, one of the younger students, says. “Not when you’re way better parents than my actual ones.”  
  
  
Bellamy can’t help but smile at that, especially when Octavia turns around to grin at him. “Here’s to being better parents than your actual ones, then. Now can we get this game started already?”  
  
  
“I choose Harper,” Miller says.   
  
  
“She has _wings_!” Murphy says. “That’s clearly an unfair advantage.”  
  
  
“No powers during soccer,” Clarke says firmly. “Those are the rules. Besides, wings don’t exactly help when you need to kick around a ball.”  
  
  
“Okay, _mom_ ,” Murphy grumbles back.   
  
  
“Shut up, I’m picking,” Octavia says, waving a hand to silence him.   
  
  
“Hi picking, I’m dad.”  
  
  
“BELLAMY!” Octavia bursts, reaching behind to hit her brother in the arm. The group dissolves into giggles and Clarke glances up at Bellamy, her cheeks rosy.  
  
  
“You’re embarrassing the kids, Bellamy,” she says, a teasing smile playing at her lips.   
  
  
“It’s happening!” Jasper cries out, arms thrown up in the air. “They’re investing in their roles!” Octavia shuts them all up again before choosing her next team member and they continue until everyone is sorted into two groups. With Luna offering to referee, they set off playing. Abilities are used occasionally, the whistle is blown more than occasionally and their friendly match becomes, as per usual, less friendly with every goal scored.   
  
  
Miller’s team wins 5-4 so the losing team needs to cook lunch under Lincoln’s guidance, which Octavia doesn’t really complain much about. Murphy mutters that she made them lose on purpose and receives a slap to the back of his head from Raven.   
  
  
“They _will_ probably make out over the kitchen counter, though,” she says, rolling her eyes.   
  
  
“Not on my fucking watch,” Bellamy says, eyes narrowed.   
  
  
“You know she won’t,” Clarke chastises. “Lincoln _definitely_ won’t.”  
  
  
“What’s the menu, Octavia? Do you know?” Miller asks as they near the entrance to the front building. When there’s no response, they turn towards where Octavia was walking behind them. “Octavia?” They spot her a few paces behind, on her knees and clutching at her head.   
  
  
“Octavia?!” Bellamy cries, running towards her. The air around her is pulsing with raw energy and Bellamy quickly checks that she’s got her headband on. He pushes through the live air, his skin stinging almost painfully, and drops to his knees in front of her, taking her face in his hands. “Octavia?” Within seconds, his skin feels like it's about to split open and he resists the urge to fling his body outside the bubble of air around his sister.   
  
  
“Get Kane,” she grits out, eyes squeezed shut. “My head feels like it’s going to explode.”   
  
  
“I’ll get him,” Clarke says. “Get her to Callie. _Now._ ” She sprints off and Monty creates a portal which the Blakes, Miller, Raven, Jasper and Monty enter the medbay through. Murphy runs off to tell Lincoln while Harper herds the children to the kitchens.  
  
  
Callie runs out of her office the second she hears her name being called out by Raven. She is struck with fear when she sees Octavia doubled over in the middle of the medbay, hands clutching her head. Callie sprints towards her but as soon as she’s a few steps away from the young girl, she feels her skin begin to burn. She glances up to see Bellamy scramble away quickly from his sister, glancing down at the red skin on his arms. Callie takes a deep breath, rolling her neck, before pushing through the energy. The students watch, breath held, as her skin begins blistering. But just before the skin can tear apart, it begins healing again. She moves slowly towards Octavia, feeling almost as if she were fighting through a hot blizzard, her skin constantly scorching and mending.   
  
  
Finally, Octavia is in reaching distance. She extends her arm out. Her fingers graze Octavia’s hand and then Callie’s flying backwards. Her back hits the metal of a bedframe with a sickening crack and she finds herself supremely grateful for her self-healing abilities.   
  
  
“Professor!” Monty cries, running to her side, but the others are all transfixed at the sight of Octavia. She’s slowly rising into the air, arms and legs hanging loosely from her frame. But it’s her eyes that make Bellamy’s breath stutter. Her beautiful brown eyes are absolutely and heart-wrenchingly empty. Her hair begins to fly around her head and she appears almost angelic, if not for the fact that she had just broken their professor’s back.   
  
  
“Octavia,” Bellamy hears Clarke gasp behind him. He tears his eyes away from his sister to see Kane and Clarke running into the medbay.   
  
  
“Professor Kane, I don’t understand,” Bellamy says.   
  
  
“It’s worse than I feared,” Kane says. He takes a step towards Octavia but Bellamy grabs his arm.  
  
  
“Your skin will split,” he warns. “Professor Cartwright got close enough to touch her but Octavia threw her across the room.” Kane’s eyes glance quickly at Callie, who shares a worried look with their headmaster. “I don’t understand- what’s happening?”   
  
  
“Her psychic powers have taken control of her mind and body,” Kane answers gravely. “After Mcreary’s siege, she told me her mind felt… _alive_. So I entered it and the energy pulsing inside her head was…,” Kane shakes his head fearfully, “was nothing like I have ever seen before. I had hoped the adjustments Sinclair and I made on her headband would be enough to contain her powers. I suppose for a few weeks, it was.”   
  
  
“You couldn’t predict this?” Bellamy says, his voice louder than acceptable. He wants to shout, to _yell_ at his professor. They were supposed to protect them.   
  
  
“I didn’t predict it would be like _this,_ ” Kane breathes, looking stricken. “Bellamy, your sister might be the strongest mutant I have ever met. But with her inexperience, that makes her the most dangerous.”  
  
  
“How do we help her?” Clarke asks, stepping forward. “There must be a way to bring her powers back into control, right?”   
  
  
“I would need to be in her head to see what can be done,” Kane answers. “Sinclair has been developing a machine that would allow me to amplify my own telepathy in order to stabilise the energy in her mind.”  
  
  
“So _do_ it!” Bellamy says, the panic in his body rearing strong.   
  
  
“I need to be far closer to her than this,” Kane says. “Physical distance aside, I can’t even touch her mind. She won’t let me in.”  
  
  
“How do we help her?” Bellamy grits out. “You aren’t allowed to have _no_ solution to this, Professor.” Clarke’s fingers close gently around his elbow.  
  
  
“If she’s tranquilised, will her powers dampen enough for you to get into her head?” Clarke asks Kane.   
  
  
He purses his lips, thinking, “Potentially. But I’m not sure anything will be able to get close enough to take her down.”   
  
  
“Bellamy,” Clarke says, turning to him. “Can you ice her?”   
  
  
“You want me to ice my own sister?” He asks, trying to shake her hand off. She holds on firmly.   
  
  
“Bellamy, she is a danger to herself right now. What you’re seeing is _not_ your sister, it’s her powers. So yes, I want you to ice her, because it might be the only way to save her.” Clarke’s heart breaks at the look in Bellamy’s eyes but she stares back resolutely, pleading with him, until he finally sucks in a breath through his gritted teeth.   
  
  
He turns towards Octavia and with a trembling hand, throws a layer of ice at his sister. It is meant to encase her, but instead it bursts into harmless specks of snow the second it enters the bubble of energy around her.   
  
  
Everyone stares horrified. Without warning, Jasper hurls a pillow towards Octavia but it bursts into finely shredded feathers upon impact with the energy. And then objects start flying around the room, surrounding her in a tornado of protection.   
  
  
“I doubt I can make it through to her now,” Callie says, joining the group.  
  
  
“ _I_ could get through the objects but I can’t heal through the energy,” Jasper says.   
  
  
There’s tense silence as they can do nothing but watch Octavia suspended like a possessed puppet in midair.   
  
  
“I could do both,” Clarke suddenly whispers. Bellamy and Kane are closest to her, the only ones who hear her. She looks at Kane. “If I sap her power, will it be enough to take her down?”  
  
  
“I don’t know if you’ll survive it,” Kane says.  
  
  
“Will it be enough to take her down?” Clarke repeats, enunciating each word, making clear that it’s the only thing important to her. Kane stares at her anxiously before nodding. “Will my mind lose control like hers?” Bellamy is struggling to keep up… Was she- was she offering to take his sister’s powers, even if it meant...  
  
  
“Your mind isn’t built for telekinesis of that magnitude,” Kane warns. “It will likely kill you if you end up taking the full force of her powers.”   
  
  
“Can you protect my mind?” She asks Kane.   
  
  
He hesitates, “I’m not sure. I’ve never seen power like this,” he looks up warily at Octavia. “I may not be able to protect you, Clarke.”  
  
  
“I trust you, Professor,” Clarke says firmly and Bellamy is struck by how unwaveringly trustworthy the girl in front of him is. She has _no idea_ if Kane would truly be able to protect her, no _clue_ if he’ll fail when faced with Octavia’s powers. And yet, she trusts. He is, not for the first time, struck by her sheer selflessness and ability to rely on others.   
  
  
“Clarke…”  
  
  
“I trust you, Professor,” she repeats firmly. “I’m going to take Jasper and Callie’s powers- that’ll help me get close enough to Octavia to touch her. Hopefully she doesn’t have another way of killing me by then. You stay in my mind and fight the force once I start draining her. I… I only hope I don’t drain too long.” She stares worriedly down at her hands.  
  
  
“You won’t,” her head whips towards Bellamy, who has just spoken with confidence that surprises them both. “I know you won’t hurt her.” He doesn’t know why but he _knows_ this. He _knows_ that even with her own powers taking control of the situation, she won’t hurt his sister. She _won’t._ It’s illogical to assume that she won’t but he just… he knows.   
  
  
She nods, swallowing hard, before removing her gloves and handing them to Raven. Jasper steps forward first, looking far too ready for someone who’s about to have his life force sapped out of him. She reaches out to his face, keeping her eyes locked with his steady ones, until her fingers brush his cheek. Her bones tremble with the foreign energy and she counts down to five before tearing her hand away. Jasper collapses into Monty’s waiting arms. She hates that her powers scream at her to keep draining, hates that the new energy feels so wonderful. She is glad she’s gained enough control of them to pull away herself.  
  
  
“The more you take, the stronger your healing will be,” Callie says when Clarke turns to her next.  
  
  
“Professor,” she whispers, hesitating. What if she took too much…   
  
  
But before she has a chance to reach out herself, Callie’s cool palms cradle Clarke’s face. The force with which her hands press against Clarke’s skin makes the draining more vicious and Callie’s body seizes up within seconds. But to everyone’s breathless shock, Callie continues to hold tightly, fingers pressing into Clarke’s cheeks. Finally, her eyes roll back and her body pitches forward. Miller is standing ready and catches his professor.   
  
  
Clarke has to close her eyes and take a few breaths to calm her thundering heart. But her blood is pumping and her mind feels _fresh_ with energy and she knows there’s no better time to do this than now.   
  
  
She turns to Kane and he reaches out with his hands. She is worried he is going to touch her face but his palms hover just above her temples. She closes her eyes and focuses on letting his mind establish a link with hers.   
  
  
_Clarke?_  
  
  
**_Yes, Professor._**  
  
  
_I’m here. We can do this._  
  
  
Bellamy catches her arm just before she’s about to enter the energy bubble and she turns to him. He simply stares at her, jaw clenched with words he wants to say but can’t out of being purely paralysed by the fear of losing his sister. But she knows what he wants to say. _Good luck. Thank you. I’m sorry. I trust you. I’m sorry._  
  
  
She nods at him reassuringly, offering him a small smile, before turning back towards Octavia.   
  
  
She channels Callie’s powers through her body and enters the energy field around Octavia. Her skin instantly starts burning but she’s relieved when her wounds begin healing as soon as they appear. She moves slowly, so that the energy around her isn’t too disturbed, so that Octavia’s mind isn’t forcefully alerted by her presence. It isn’t so fruitful, as only a few steps in, the objects around Octavia begin flying straight at Clarke.   
  
  
Clarke clenches her fists, forcing Jasper’s powers to surround her like a blanket and the objects fly straight through her, as if she were a ghost.   
  
  
_You’re doing good, Clarke. Just a little further._  
  
  
‘A little further’ is optimistic but Clarke appreciates Kane’s encouragement nonetheless. She pushes through, slowly and carefully, and is not surprised by how quickly she feels tired. She expected nothing else from having to constantly channel two abilities that aren’t her own, all the while fighting through whatever Octavia was projecting.   
  
  
**_Are you ready, Professor?_**  
  
  
_Yes. I’m with you. Do it._  
  
  
Her mind suddenly roars to life as Kane extends a protective force through her brain. It’s so undeniably strong and breath-takingly powerful that Clarke can’t imagine anything stronger than it. She can’t even begin to imagine what Octavia has inside _her_ head. And what she’s about to transfer to her own.  
  
  
When she’s close enough to touch Octavia, the younger girl moves, her body flying downwards to face Clarke. Octavia doesn’t fight her physically, instead pushing a strong mental force towards her mind. Kane fights back and Clarke is struck by the sudden overwhelming flurry of color in her mind. Kane’s fierce yellow against Octavia’s unforgiving red.   
  
  
_Clarke, now!_  
  
  
Clarke snaps out of her focus on her mind, remembering her purpose, trusting that Kane has her back. She reaches out with both hands and the closer she gets, the faster and more aggressively her skin begins tearing, blood leaking out. But Callie had given her the best and strongest parts of her healing and Clarke is worried only for a moment.  
  
  
She finally fights through the energy pulsing around Octavia just enough to press the tips of her fingers against Octavia’s face.   
  
  
For a moment, Octavia doesn’t react. For a moment, the red colors disappear from her mind. For a moment, the objects stop mid-air. For a moment, the energy is still. For a moment, all is silent.   
  
  
Clarke seizes this moment to press her palms firmly against Octavia’s cheeks. And she has never had to pull someone’s life force out of them because it always happened automatically when her skin touched someone else’s, but this time she _pulls_. She presses her skin against Octavia’s and drains and drains and _drains_.   
  
  
And then Octavia is gasping violently for breath and her body begins to seize as the energy in her mind attempts to move from one body to another. Clarke feels power like she has never felt before coursing through her body and she is afraid she is taking too much from Octavia. But as long as the raw energy still pulses around them, as long as the objects are still flying in the air, Octavia is still in danger because it means there is enough unchecked power left in her mind that is being projected.   
  
  
Clarke tries to concentrate only on her task but it is impossible to ignore the battle raging in her head. She can feel Kane’s yellow energy pushing hard and fighting back against the red colors seeping into her mind, draining out of Octavia’s head and into hers. The colors pulse and dance and _fight_ and Clarke feels like she is on the verge of imploding. She feels the walls of her mind stretching and changing and she wonders if it’s truly possible for her head to simply explode. She knows Kane is the only thing keeping her from finding out.   
  
  
And then the objects crash to the floor. The bubble of energy ceases to exist. And Octavia’s eyes slide shut and she drops to the ground. Clarke allows her face to slip out of her grip but even once they’re no longer touching, her own mind is bursting with unchecked energy. She begins to lose feeling in her limbs, in her stomach, in her chest, in her neck, crawling upwards rapidly.  
  
  
Bellamy runs to Octavia the moment she falls, but his eyes trail back to Clarke, who remains standing with her head now gripped in her hands. And then she’s rising, eyes sightless, feet lifting off the floor. And he wonders if this is it. If this is the last they will see of Clarke Griffin.   
  
  
He wonders if the girl he had hated since the day she moved into his home would die saving his sister.   
  
  
He refuses to let that happen. Passing his sister’s fallen body to Lincoln, he moves swiftly towards Clarke. He grabs her sweatshirt, fingers curling around the material at her stomach, and pulls her back down to the ground. He wraps his arms around her and holds her in an awkward embrace, urging her to reach around the power now controlling her and just _feel_ him.   
  
  
“Fight this, Clarke!” He says, wondering if she can even hear him. “You can fight this! Come on, Clarke! You’re a fighter, so fight back!” He repeats the words over and over, even as her body begins seizing, even as her back begins arching, even as foam begins leaking out of her mouth. “Come on, Clarke! Please! We need you!” And then she opens her mouth and releases what he can only describe later to her as a long drawn-out war-cry. And then she’s still, her body sagging lifelessly in his arms.   
  
  
Bellamy drops to his knees, turning her body gently in his embrace, heart hammering loudly in his ears. Was she…?   
  
  
He holds his fingers up by her parted lips and turns the air around her face cold. With overwhelming relief, he watches foggy breath escape her mouth.   
  
  
He doesn’t realise he’s crying until after both Octavia and Clarke are lying on two beds side-by-side and he collapses into a chair between them and pushes his face into his hands.   
  
  
+++  
  
  
Bellamy skips lunch and remains anxiously in his chair, the one placed right between Octavia’s and Clarke’s beds. Neither of the girls have regained consciousness since Clarke saved Octavia three hours ago. Kane assures him that their minds are simply resting but he isn’t ready to feel comfortable until he sees their eyes open once more.  
  
  
Callie occasionally comes around to check on the steady flow of sedatives running through Octavia’s body through a syringe and some tubes attached to her arm. Bellamy wants to ask if that’s necessary, if it’s safe. But even before he can ask, Callie tells him quietly that it’s the only thing keeping Octavia stable until Sinclair and Kane can figure something out.   
  
  
Sinclair strides in at the fourth hour and Kane turns in his seat by Octavia’s bed.   
  
  
“I think it’s ready,” Sinclair announces. Monty and Raven follow close behind, pushing a trolley laden with what looks like two metal helmets with wires and tubes of liquid attached between them. Bellamy is too afraid to ask.  
  
  
Monty drags Octavia gently up into a half-sitting position, though she remains slumped unconscious against the pillow at her back. Raven slips one of the helmets over her head and begins to check the wires and tubes. Sinclair is doing the same for Kane. One set of wires and tubes from his helmet connect to Octavia’s, and another set connect to a machine on the trolley.   
  
  
“We call it Cerebro,” Raven explains in a quiet voice as Kane brings his chair closer to Octavia and reaches out to grasp her hand. Even with the frightening helmet attached to his head, making him look almost like a cyborg or a science experiment, Bellamy sees the concern and apprehension in Kane’s face as he gazes upon Octavia. He wonders if this is what it’s like to have a parent who cares.   
  
  
“Well, _Kane’s_ is called Cerebro,” Raven continues. “In short, it amplifies brainwaves and heightens a telepath’s psychic abilities. Octavia’s helmet dampens her psychic abilities. So together, they’re going to make Kane’s powers stronger than Octavia’s.” Bellamy swallows hard, grateful for Raven’s explanation but unable to wrap his head around the fact that his baby sister’s mutant abilities were stronger than their headmaster’s. _‘Your sister might be the strongest mutant I have ever met’,_ Kane had said.   
  
  
He remembers the way his skin had burnt, the way Callie’s back had broken, the way his icicles had been reduced to nothing, the way the cuts on Clarke’s face had bled. He wonders what would have become of Octavia, of them all, if Clarke hadn’t stopped her in time. He wonders what will become of them if Kane can’t help her. He wonders if this is why humans fear mutants.   
  
  
Kane signals to Sinclair, who switches on the machine. Monty squeezes Bellamy’s shoulder and lets his hand rest there, a comforting presence. Raven sits down by Clarke on the edge of her bed and they watch in absolute silence. Kane’s eyes close and other than some occasional shifts in his expression, nobody and nothing moves for the next eighteen and a half minutes. Finally, Kane releases a heavy breath, opens his eyes, and removes his helmet. Sinclair gently eases off Octavia’s and they shift her so she is lying back down.   
  
  
“Professor?” Bellamy urges.   
  
  
“She’s going to be okay,” Kane says and Bellamy can’t help the tears that spill down his cheeks. He sees Raven swipe at her eyes discreetly. “I was able to create barriers in her mind, temporary compartments to hold her excess psychic powers.”  
  
  
“How temporary is temporary?” Bellamy asks.   
  
  
“It will hold,” Kane promises. “I will check in on her mind once every month to make sure she remains protected.” He glances at Raven, Monty and Sinclair. “Could I have a moment alone with Bellamy, please?” They nod and leave and Kane turns back to address Bellamy. “I don’t want you to think that I don’t trust Octavia, or that I think her powers are a burden to anyone, herself included. She has been gifted with a magnitude of abilities that I, nor any of the other professors, have ever experienced. If uncontained, they _are_ dangerous, to her and everyone around her, but they won’t be forever. I believe that she will learn to control the full extent of them, and I believe that she will grow up to live a normal mutant life. But she will have to work harder than others.”  
  
  
“She’ll do it, I know she will,” Bellamy says, and he’s too tired and relieved to feel embarrassed by the fact that he is still crying.   
  
  
“I know it too, Bellamy,” Kane says, nodding. “And I know that above everything else, she has an army behind her. To trust her and protect her and help her. I promise you, Bellamy,” he turns to Octavia, “I promise you _both_ that I will never give up on her. It won’t be easy but we _can_ do this.”  
  
  
“Thank you, Professor,” Bellamy says. “I can’t imagine what we would have done if we were out on the streets.”  
  
  
“You don’t have to imagine it, Bellamy, because it won’t happen,” Kane assures him. Bellamy nods, wondering if he will ever stop feeling choked up. “I also wanted to thank you.”  
  
  
“Thank _me_?” Bellamy splutters. “What for?”  
  
  
“Perhaps… perhaps it is best if Clarke were to tell you,” Kane answers, eyes resting on Clarke. “Just know that you did good today. And I’m glad to see how far the two of you have come.” Kane smiles fondly, standing up. “I remember a certain somebody, not long ago, demanding to know why a girl like Clarke Griffin was allowed to live by his side.” Bellamy ducks his head, embarrassed. “Get some rest, son.” He leaves after informing Callie that she could remove Octavia’s sedative drip. Bellamy slumps back into his chair, suddenly exhausted.   
  
  
He’s woken up from his sleep when he hears the first sob.   
  
  
“Octavia, it’s okay,” he hears before he’s registered his surroundings enough to open his eyes. He realises with a jolt that it’s Clarke speaking and he would recognise Octavia’s cries anywhere. He opens his eyes to see the two girls awake, facing each other. Octavia releases another sob. Bellamy wants to move but something in the way the girls are looking at each other makes him stop. This was their moment, something that they needed. Something that Octavia needed, because she had almost killed the friend that had saved her life  
  
  
“Octavia, it’s okay,” Clarke repeats, pushing herself to a seated position.   
  
  
“No, it’s _not_ ,” Octavia chokes out, pushing the heels of her palms into her closed eyes. Clarke moves to get out of bed but her legs fail her and she drops to the ground between the beds, just in front of Bellamy. His arms shoot out towards her but she doesn’t seem to notice. In the moonlight streaming in through the windows, he sees her expression morph into determination before she grasps the edge of Octavia’s bed and pulls herself towards Octavia’s face, knees scraping the ground. She reaches out and presses one gloved hand against the top of Octavia’s head and the other hand eases Octavia’s own away from her eyes.  
  
  
“Octavia, look at me.” His sister allows Clarke to pull away her hands and turns her face to meet Clarke’s eyes. “It’s okay.”  
  
  
“Clarke, what you did for me...” Octavia whispers, tears spilling over her pillow. “I could’ve killed you.”   
  
  
“That wasn’t you,” Clarke says firmly, her hand squeezing Octavia’s. “ _This_ is you. This is the Octavia I fought for.”  
  
  
“I felt every second of it, I could see you the whole time. I _saw_ you, Clarke,” Octavia weeps and Bellamy’s heart shatters. “But I couldn’t do anything. I was hurting you and I couldn’t do anything. I’m so sorry.”  
  
  
“No, stop,” Clarke says and he sees tears slip down her cheeks. “I will heal,” she says with a voice that leaves no room for discussion. “I will heal and so will you. And that’s all that matters. Okay?” Octavia stares at her for a few long moments, her breath stuttering out in sobs, before she nods weakly.   
  
  
“Good. Now I think your brother’s been waiting for you,” Clarke says before turning to Bellamy. He feels embarrassed, as if he had invaded in a private moment. But Clarke is smiling softly at him and there’s something else in her expression he doesn’t understand. He thinks it might be gratefulness but he can’t imagine why she would be grateful towards him. _She’s_ the one who had saved his sister.  
  
  
“Hey, O,” Bellamy says, moving around to the other side of the bed and sitting down by her. “I’m glad you’re okay.”  
  
  
Octavia nods before her face crumples and he leans forward to press his lips firmly against her forehead.   
  
  
“I’m sorry, Bell,” she cries.   
  
  
“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Bellamy whispers. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”   
  
  
Callie enters the room a few moments later, apologising for interrupting. “I have to check your vitals,” she explains to the girls. She helps Clarke back into bed and does the necessary checks before smiling down at both of them. “I’m really glad you both are okay.”  
  
  
“Callie, I…” Octavia starts, eyes downcast.   
  
  
“No, Octavia, I will not hear an apology,” Callie says firmly. She extends both arms towards Clarke and Octavia and the two girls reach out to grasp one hand each. She holds on tightly to her students. “I am incredibly thankful that you both are okay, that is the only thing that matters to me.” Tears well up in her eyes and she blinks them back. “And I am so proud that you all took care of each other yesterday.” She directs this at Bellamy too, and he remains puzzled. _What_ did he miss?   
  
  
“We couldn’t have done it without you, Callie,” Clarke says. Octavia nods gravely in agreement.  
  
  
“Family protects each other,” Callie says. “Anyway, it’s three in the morning. I would suggest you all get some sleep. I’m sure many visitors will be swinging by to see you tomorrow. Bellamy, feel free to take the free bed there, as I assume you will not want to leave your sister’s side.” She gestures towards the empty bed beside Octavia and he nods gratefully.   
  
  
Bellamy doesn’t think he could sleep after everything that has happened but the second his head touches the pillow, he finds his eyes fluttering shut. He’s on the brink of sleep when he hears Octavia calling Clarke’s name softly.   
  
  
“Yeah?” Clarke replies.  
  
  
Octavia’s voice is impossibly quiet when she speaks next, but in the still silence of the medbay, Bellamy hears the words she says. Words he knows she hasn’t said to anybody but him for as long as he can remember.   
  
  
“I love you.”  
  
  
Bellamy thinks about all the loneliness and heartache that his sister and he have endured in their lives so far, thinks about how _home_ was once an unfathomable concept, thinks about how they had run and run and run their entire lives to survive, and thinks that maybe… maybe they could finally stop running now.  
  
  
+++   
  
  
“Hey.”   
  
  
Bellamy turns to look over his shoulder at Monty, who’s walking towards him. Bellamy furrows his eyebrows because it is unusual for Monty to be outdoors during the snow. He _despises_ the cold. He thinks it might be one of the reasons he was drawn to Miller.   
  
  
“Hi,” Bellamy smiles as Monty sits down on the bench beside Bellamy, then shifts a bit closer to share his body heat.   
  
  
“Raven said I could find you here,” Monty says. “Sorry if I’m intruding on some breathing time… it’s been pretty overwhelming recently.”  
  
  
“Yeah,” Bellamy bobs his head. “But you’re not. Intruding, I mean. Is everything okay?”  
  
  
“I wanted to thank you,” Monty says, looking out onto the still lake.  
  
  
“I’m not sure I follow.”  
  
  
“I heard what you did for Clarke,” Monty says. “Well, I _saw_ it, but I didn’t realise that it saved her.”   
  
  
“Monty, what are you talking about?” Bellamy asks. He assumes this is what Kane had mentioned briefly and mysteriously. He hadn’t asked Clarke yet, and she hadn’t said anything over the last few days. But she had also spent most of the time sleeping, much like Octavia. Their bodies and minds were still in recovery, and he didn’t want to do anything to upset that process.  
  
  
“Oh. Clarke didn’t tell you?” Monty frowns, a flash of guilt in his eyes. He is silent for a few moments, moments during which Bellamy wants to scream because _why can’t someone tell him already?_ And then Monty does. “After Clarke saved Octavia, her mind began collapsing because it isn’t built for such strong and unstable psychic power. She told me that she was sure she was going to die, that Kane’s protection wasn’t going to be enough. But then she heard your voice, telling her to fight, and it tethered her. She’s alive because of you,” Monty finishes, and his eyes are so soft and fond and thankful but Bellamy can’t imagine any of this is true.  
  
  
“Monty, I don’t… I don’t think I’m the reason Clarke survived,” Bellamy shakes his head. “Doesn’t that sound a bit unlikely to you?”  
  
  
“Honestly? Yeah,” Monty grins and Bellamy releases a bark of laughter. Then Monty’s smile becomes quieter, gentler. “But she told me herself. And then I heard Kane talking to Callie about it… I know I shouldn’t have eavesdropped,” his smile turns sheepish and guilty. “But also as a student of science and anatomy, I kind of just wanted to understand what I saw. Kane was saying that he couldn’t imagine anybody surviving what Clarke did for Octavia. By all logic, her mind should’ve collapsed entirely, her heart should have stopped beating as a result. Kane said he was _in_ her mind, he saw it coming but then… then in the very last second, your voice echoed around her head. Kane heard it too. And then suddenly, it wasn’t just him fighting the force, she fought too. Even with her brain failing and her heart beginning to stop, her mind fought back. He said he’s never seen anything like it before. He called it a miracle.”  
  
  
Bellamy feels breathless. He can’t- it couldn’t be, could it? That his last-ditch effort to save her had _actually_ saved her?   
  
  
“She saved Octavia and you saved her,” Monty says wistfully. “It might have been the most terrifying thing I have ever seen my entire life, but it was also the most beautiful.”  
  
  
+++  
  
  
Clarke knocks on his door two afternoons later and he feels the breath rush out of him at the sight of her standing and smiling and looking more _alive_ that he had seen her look in days.   
  
  
“Hi,” she says, her voice soft and tired, much like her smile.   
  
  
“Hey,” Bellamy smiles back, placing his pen down over his almost completed assignment. “How are you?”  
  
  
Clarke doesn’t answer until she’s seated on the foot of his bed, just by his writing desk. She looks around the room, around his side and then around Octavia’s. It’s not like she hasn’t been here before, but Bellamy assumes she just needs a minute.  
  
  
“I didn’t think I would be _this_ tired even after a whole week,” Clarke admits with a weak smile. “But I’m okay, all things considered. Kane says I’m going to make a full recovery in no time.”  
  
  
“I’m glad to hear it,” Bellamy says. He gets up from his chair and goes to sit beside her on the bed. They stare at the picture of him and Octavia that he’s hung up on the wall across them.   
  
  
Silence hangs between them, not uncomfortable, but it’s clear that they both have things to say. He decides to start. “Clarke,” he hesitates. She turns to him. “I’m sorry I didn’t stop you from going in after Octavia, even though I knew it might kill you.” His heart hammers loudly, mostly with the fear of how she would respond. He expects her to be disappointed, or angry, or upset, or _something_. Because he _had_ allowed her to walk to her death. He hadn’t even tried to stop her, knowing what would come.   
  
  
But Clarke being Clarke, she surprises him as usual. “She’s your sister, Bellamy,” Clarke says matter-of-factly. “If I had a sister, I would probably be willing to sacrifice anything for her.”   
  
  
Bellamy winces and squirms at that wording. Like he had given up Clarke’s _life_ as a sacrifice, as an offering to the universe in exchange for his sister’s. But then again… he supposes that’s exactly what he had done.   
  
  
“And besides, I don’t think there’s anything you could’ve said to stop me,” Clarke says. “The second I knew what I had to do, I realised I was ready to do it, no matter the consequences.”  
  
  
“Still…” Bellamy frowns. It felt… _foreign_ , this idea that there was somebody who was willing to risk their life for him and his sister. He had felt it when Clarke had left the jet to save him from Mcreary. He hadn’t felt it _in_ that moment, but in the days that followed, he thought about it a lot. He wondered what he had done right in his life to deserve someone like Clarke Griffin, someone who wanted to save him, despite everything he had put her through.   
  
  
“I know she would’ve done the same for me,” Clarke interrupts his thoughts. “And so would you.” She says the last part a bit unsurely, but tries to mask it with a smile and a bump to his shoulder with hers.  
  
  
He remembers tightening his arms around her waist, he just about remembers the words he had shouted at her, he remembers her battle cry at the end, and the way that her body went limp. He remembers the way her breath had fogged up, remembers the _utter relief_ he had felt. He remembers the moment he realised he had been crying not just for his sister. And thinks that- yeah, he would have done the same for her. He thinks of Octavia’s whispered _I love you_ and thinks that so would she.   
  
  
“I-,” it’s her time to hesitate over her words. Bellamy wonders if she was finally going to address the… rumour. “I know Monty spoke to you. He apologised to me, because he thought that I had already told you.” Bellamy just bobs his head, because he doesn’t know what to say yet. Clarke takes a deep breath and he’s alarmed to see her lower lip tremble.   
  
  
“I think I would’ve died.” She looks down at her gloved hands, eyes wet. “I know that I was ready to. The moment I knew I could save Octavia. I was ready, you know? Like I came to terms with it pretty quickly. Because I love her and I wanted to give her the chance at the amazing life I know is waiting for her.” Bellamy forces down the emotion bubbling at his throat. “But then… when my mind started collapsing and I had that _moment_ where I knew that my heart was going to stop beating… that moment when I felt the fear in Kane’s colors...” He isn’t sure what she means by ‘colors’ but he assumes she felt his fear in her head. She turns to him, a tear slipping down her cheek. “I was _scared_.” She squeezes her eyes shut and twin tears streak down her face. “I was scared of dying, Bellamy.”   
  
  
It’s in that moment that Bellamy instinctively reaches up to wipe the tear slipping down her cheek- which, when he thinks about mid-action, might not be the best plan because it’s a pretty intense level of _intimate_ he isn’t sure she wants from him. A jolt of embarrassment strikes him when, at the last moment, she ducks out of reach and catches his wrist, just before his fingers make contact, and he wants to cringe with the realisation that he has probably overstepped.   
  
  
“You can’t touch my skin,” Clarke tells him instead, and with a pang of emotion, he realises she’s not commanding him- she’s reminding him. And she looks so terribly _small_ just then, as if the reminder pained her, that he thinks that perhaps had he possessed the power to touch her face, she wouldn’t have minded.   
  
  
Before he can think of an alternative action, because he knows that she deserves one, she leans sideways and rests her head against his shoulder. His arm winds around her back automatically, drawing her close. She releases a soft breath and he knows that this is okay.   
  
  
“Kane fought really hard for me,” she continues, her fingers wringing together. He wants to reach out and hold her hands. “And he didn’t stop fighting, even when it was abundantly clear that we couldn’t win. Octavia’s psychic force was… it would’ve beaten anybody. I was really scared.” She sighs deeply, and it comes out shaky. “I thought this was it. I was leaving without saying goodbye… I think that was the worst part, you know?” He nods, but can’t imagine what she had been through. “But then… then I heard your voice. Just… _echoing_ around my head. I couldn’t register anything around me, I couldn’t feel my own limbs, I couldn’t hear my own thoughts, but I- I could hear _you_.” His heart skips a beat.   
  
  
“You heard me?” Bellamy asks timidly, needing to be _sure_ , because it all just felt so unreal.  
  
  
“Every word,” Clarke confirms softly. “I heard you telling me to fight, that I was a fighter, that you needed me.” She pauses, wanting to say something more. He waits. And then finally, in a barely audible whisper, “Did you mean all of that?”  
  
  
He answers with an ease, with a speed that surprises him. “Every word,” he repeats back to her. He realises that he never thanked her, and that she never thanked him. But maybe they didn’t need to, because they saved each other and sometimes, there aren’t any appropriate words to cover that kind of a situation. Gratitude is replaced with a deeper emotion that perhaps doesn’t need to be addressed at all.   
  
  
She shuffles closer to him and his arm around her tightens and then they’re silent for a long time. This time it’s comfortable and natural and… and it’s _warm_.   
  
  
She finally speaks when they hear Octavia, Miller and Raven somewhere outside in the corridor laughing loudly. “I think… I think we are all incredibly lucky to have each other.” Bellamy nods in agreement, his chin grazing the blonde curls on the top of her head.   
  
  
He thinks about the moment Clarke had walked into Octavia’s bubble of energy, ready to sacrifice her life to save her. He thinks about the fact that his voice, telling Clarke to fight, had been enough to rescue her. He wonders if their roles had been reversed, would her voice have been enough to save him? And he decides quite effortlessly that yes, yes it would have been. And he thinks about Octavia and his journey so far and something deep within him warms at the realisation that there were now people in their lives, other than each other, who they would die for. And equally, who they would live for.  
  
  
+++

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked that!!! I really enjoyed writing it. Please please do let me know your thoughts in a review, however short it is, it really does mean so much to me to know what you guys think! 
> 
> Also I 100% realised while writing that I swapped POV from Bellamy to Clarke during Octavia's psychic force takeover scene. I just really really wanted to write what Clarke was feeling, physically and mentally, through it. And I think it wasn't too unnatural or glaring a shift in the end, right? I think it worked! Let me know whether it was okay ;) 
> 
> The next chapter, titled "Tentative" will be PURE BELLARKE. Simply a chapter full of moments and relationship building. I've already written a third of it (which I actually wrote before pretty much everything else in this story, beacause I was in love with the setting of it, you'll see next chapter!). But I hope to have it up sometime in the next week or two! 
> 
> So list of powers-  
> Octavia: Telekinesis and telepathy  
> Clarke: Life force absorption  
> Bellamy: Ice and cold manipulation  
> Raven: Shockwaves/ Earthquakes  
> Miller: Pyrokinesis/ Fire manipulation  
> Monty: Portals  
> Jasper: Intangibility (ability to phase through objects)  
> Lincoln: Earth manipulation  
> Harper: Wings  
> Kane: Telekinesis and telepathy  
> Diyoza: Storm/ weather control  
> Callie: Super-healing factor  
> Nyko: Super-strength  
> Indra: Force-field generation  
> Luna: Hydrokinesis/ Water manipulation


	4. Tentative

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Welcome back, I hope you are doing okay! Sorry it took me so long to update, this chapter took me a while to write + work has been busy. But it's finally here, I hope you like it! xx

Bellamy reckons he can pinpoint the exact morning he realised he had feelings for Clarke Griffin.   
  
  
He’s sitting in the living room reading a book that Wells had lent him. Wells, who, unbeknownst to his father, had become a frequent visitor to their home and had quickly worked his way into all their hearts, Bellamy’s included. He had thought it would take longer, considering he was the son of a man who had the power to help mutantkind but chose not to. But it did not take any of them very long to see that Wells Jaha was nothing like this father. With every passing visit, Bellamy finds himself hopeful and not at all doubtful that one day the young man would change the world for the better.   
  
  
Bellamy is taking a sip of his coffee, eyes glued to the page he’s reading, when he hears a heavy sigh of exasperation from behind him.  
  
  
“There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you!” He turns in his seat to see Clarke in the doorway, looking slightly flushed and out of breath. She’s dressed in her fluffy purple bathrobe, checkered pajama top and bottoms underneath, and her hair is haphazardly tied into a braid.   
  
  
“Everything okay?” He asks, corner of his lip twitching up at the sight of her.   
  
  
“Yes, yes, fine,” she says, moving towards him. “I just need your help with this one word.” She holds up the book he didn’t notice she was clutching in her hands and he raises his eyebrows. She flops into the sofa beside him and he wonders if she misjudged the distance because she lands flush up next to him, arms pressed together. He finds that he doesn’t mind it one bit.   
  
  
She opens the book to the page bookmarked by a pencil and he grins when he realises it’s a crossword puzzle. “Twelve-across nine letters. _To do with a lack of confidence_.” The answer slips out of his mouth within moments and she turns an affronted look at him. “How do you do that?! Is your brain just wired in a different nerd way?”   
  
  
He grins at her widely, eyes crinkling in the corners. “Did you come here to get my help or insult me?”  
  
  
“I came for your help but frankly I’m just annoyed now that you got it so quickly,” she says, scowl on her face as she writes the answer into the boxes. “Now go back to your book,” she mutters, moving to the next clue. She makes no move to leave, no move to even shift away from him. She remains exactly where she is, crushed into his side, and he finds himself feeling very warm. He takes a moment to stare at the side of her face, the way her teeth are worrying her lower lip in concentration, her blue eyes focused on her task, her hand occasionally swiping up to brush away the hair in her face.   
  
  
“What?” She asks without looking up at him, filling in the next set of letters. He shakes his head, smiling to himself, and turns back to his book. Bellamy was always the type of person who enjoyed his solitude on a Saturday morning, time to relax and read before the inevitable rush of weekend activity. Before coming to Kane’s Home, it was working weekend jobs and helping Octavia with homework. After coming to Kane’s, it was schoolwork and socialising with the others- sports, movies, picnics. And while he adores his new weekend activities far more and enjoys the lack of responsibilities, silence and solitude are still strictly necessary for him. Those are what Saturday mornings are for.  
  
  
But with Clarke pressed up beside him, occasionally muttering under her breath, he realises that he wouldn’t mind his Saturday mornings looking like this too. At some point in the next half hour, she sighs heavily and slides the crossword book onto his lap.   
  
  
“Eight-down, twelve letters,” she says. He puts his own book aside, smiling, and picks up hers. It’s a tough one and while he’s thinking about it, she drops her head onto his shoulder. He shifts slightly, so that she’s comfortable enough to look at the book from her position. In the end it’s Clarke who figures out the clue, but instead of taking the book from him, she simply reaches over to fill the boxes while he holds the book steady.   
  
  
“Shall we do fifteen-across next?” He asks and she nods against his shoulder.  
  
  
He likes his silence and solitude without a doubt, but he thinks that maybe he likes Clarke Griffin a little more.   
  
  
+++   
  
  
  
Bellamy knows he shouldn’t be grumpy, acting like a child. But he can’t help it. This was a _tradition,_ one of the only traditions they had. And she just _left_!  
  
  
“Raven said you were out here sulking.” He turns to look over his shoulder to see Clarke walking over to him. She’s bundled up in a fluffy white jumper underneath a dark purple jacket, a pale blue woollen scarf wrapped around her neck. A light pink beanie is pulled low over her ears and she’s wearing the pink gloves Wells had gifted her. She sits down beside him on the bench and hands him one of the two flasks in her hands. “Hot chocolate.”  
  
  
“Thanks,” he says quietly, hands heating up as they wrap around the flask.  
  
  
“Are you not cold?” She asks, eyebrows furrowed as she takes in his black jacket and orange woollen scarf but no hat and no gloves.  
  
  
“You know I’m practically made of ice, right?” He asks, lips quirking upwards.   
  
  
“Don’t be dramatic,” she scolds, frowning. “You _make_ ice, you’re not made of it. There’s a difference. Do you want my hat?”  
  
  
“You look like you need it way more than I do,” he says, grinning at her rosy cheeks and pink nose. She pulls the hat further down over her ears, scowling.   
  
  
“So why are you out here looking like Christmas got cancelled?” She asks.  
  
  
“It feels like it did,” he grumbles. She waits, staring at him patiently until he elaborates. “Octavia and I have this tradition. Every Christmas Eve since we found out about our powers, we’ve frozen over some water body or the other and gone ice skating.”  
  
  
“Ah,” Clarke says, eyes now full of sympathy and understanding. “And she went on a date with Lincoln tonight.”  
  
  
“Yeah. She said we’d go tomorrow instead but… just doesn’t feel the same,” he says, taking a sip of the hot chocolate. His eyes widen, “This is really good. Brought some expensive stuff from the boutiques in Polis?” He’s teasing and she knows by now that there is no longer any bite in his digs at her background.   
  
  
“My mom sent it over for Christmas actually,” she says. “No invite to come home for the holidays but at least I got some quality hot chocolate, right?” She shrugs a shoulder, smiling weakly. He knows her well enough to know that no matter how casual she sounds, she misses her mother. That no matter how angry she is about being abandoned, she still wants to go home. “First Christmas without family."  
  
  
“We’re your family now,” he says, nudging her arm with his elbow. She smiles at him, eyes soft before turning to look out at the lake.   
  
  
They’ve both almost finished their mugs of hot chocolate in comfortable silence when she asks, “What shoe size is Octavia?”  
  
  
He’s confused at her question but answers nonetheless, “Seven, I think.”  
  
  
“Same. Let’s go,” she stands up.   
  
  
“What? Where?” His eyebrows furrow together.  
  
  
“I can probably fit into Octavia’s ice skates. Do you want company ice skating or not?” He stares at her, her flushed cheeks and snowflakes caught in her eyelashes and the hair over her shoulders, her deep blue eyes shining as she waits for a response.   
  
  
“Yeah… Yeah that would be nice,” he says finally. She smiles and offers him her hand and pulls him to stand beside her. They walk back to his room in silence and she strolls in while he goes over to his wardrobe.   
  
  
“It’s going to be colder out on the lake,” he says, withdrawing his own ice skates from the bottom shelf. “Will you be warm enough?”   
  
  
“Raven’s borrowed my thick jumper,” she says. “Her old one tore so…”   
  
  
“As resident mom, you gave her yours,” he states, smiling.   
  
  
She laughs loudly, “Exactly.” After a second of contemplation, he grabs the jumper slung over the back of his desk chair and tosses it to her. She catches it, recognising it as his, and looks at him questioningly.  
  
  
“Borrow mine,” he replies and it suddenly strikes him that he could have just grabbed a spare sweater from Octavia’s cupboard instead. From the quick glance Clarke shoots at Octavia’s side of the room, she probably comes to the same conclusion. He brushes past her quickly so she can’t see the colour on his cheeks and goes to withdraw Octavia’s ice skates from her cupboard. Above him hangs a purple sweater and he sighs. Skates in hand, he turns to ask her whether she’d like to borrow Octavia’s sweater instead.   
  
  
But she’s already shucked off her big coat and is pulling on Bellamy’s deep red sweater, a size too big. She’s smoothening it down, looking a bit self-conscious, tugging at the hem and sleeves. He swears her cheeks are a bit pink when she looks up at him.  
  
  
“You- you look good,” he blurts out because she _does_. And something about her standing by his bed wearing his sweater makes him lose any kind of speech filter and he curses himself because when was the last time he had felt so… _weak_?   
  
  
Her eyes widen slightly before she smiles shyly and he averts his eyes, hoping she didn’t notice him swallowing hard. She pulls on her coat and hat and he can’t find it in himself to be mad about the wet shadow her coat has left on his duvet.   
  
  
“Hey, do you still have my- Wells’ jumper?” She asks, her voice sounding a bit too light for it to be an innocent question. He refrains from squeezing his eyes shut in further embarrassment.  
  
  
“Uh, yeah… Sorry, I- Yeah, I’m- I’m wearing it,” he mumbles, closing Octavia’s cupboard doors. He doesn’t even have an excuse for holding on to it for almost two and a half months now. It’s just… it’s soft and it’s warm and everyone’s gotten used to seeing it on _him_ rather than her (though there were a thousand questions from basically _everyone_ at first). He had put it through a wash two weeks into wearing it, with full intention on returning it afterwards but then it came out of the dryer _warmer_ than when it went in, and he just… slipped it on. She hadn’t asked for it back and she had seen him wearing it enough times to _know_ that yes, he still had the jumper. “We can swap, actually. I should’ve thought of that.”  
  
  
She moves past him towards the doorway, ice skates clutched in her grasp, and turns to smile cheekily and dare he believe- _flirtatiously?_ at him. “Nah, I’ll hold this one hostage instead,” she brushes the fabric of his jumper with her free hand. “Apparently, I look good in it.” Her lips quirk into further amusement before she sets off and he has to take a second, breathing out a soft laugh, before catching up with her.   
  
  
They’re lacing up their skates at the bench by the lake in silence until she asks, “Are you going to freeze the entire lake?”   
  
  
He shrugs, “Enough of it.”   
  
  
“We’re not… We’re not going to fall through the ice, right?” She asks and he would have been offended if not for the genuine nervousness laced in her voice and furrowed eyebrows.   
  
  
“Not on my watch,” he says. He finishes lacing up his skates with practiced ease and turns to see her struggling a bit. But when he reaches out to help her, she swats his hand away, turning a glare at him.   
  
  
He grins and leaves her to it, concentrating on freezing the lake over. It’s bigger than all the other water bodies he’s frozen over before but with a little bit of focus, he manages easier than he thought it would be. The progress he has made with his powers since the last time he did this makes him feel rather proud. Once he’s content with their new rink, he straightens up and glances over at his partner. Clarke is almost finished so he steps onto the lake and feeling a rush of _peace_ , he pushes out onto the ice, moving with grace and agility. One look back at Clarke tells him she won’t be moving in any way like him.  
  
  
“So,” she drags out the ‘o’, calling out to him, “I might have oversold myself. I don’t… actually really ice skate very well.” He barks out a laugh and glides back towards her.   
  
  
“Haven’t you skated before?” He asks, watching her take one tentative step onto the ice before returning it back to grass when her foot slips.   
  
  
“Once,” she mumbles, looking up at him with a small, annoyed pout. “When I was like ten. I fell a lot.” He grins at her before holding his hands out towards her. She looks up at him.   
  
  
“I’m not going to let you fall.” It’s a promise. He hopes she can hear it in his voice. He wouldn’t let her fall, he’s pretty sure he would _never_ let her fall, ice skating or not.   
  
  
Her hands are steady as they reach out, eyes shining bright, and when she wraps her small, delicate fingers around his hands, they are trusting.   
  
  
He shifts back slightly so that she can put her skates on the ice. Her grip tightens and so does his, reassuringly, when her legs shake upon first balance on the ice.  
  
  
“You make me fall and I’m taking you down with me,” she warns, eyes down on her skates.  
  
  
“You fall and I’m skating as far away as possible,” he says. Her narrowed eyes snap up to meet his.  
  
  
“No wonder Octavia didn’t want to join you for this, you’re a horrible partner,” Clarke says and he knows she’s kidding but he feels a pang of pain anyway. “Hey…” He turns his eyes back on hers and they’re softer, apologetic. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way…”  
  
  
“I know,” he assures her as he glides backwards, pulling her slowly with him. She wobbles for the first few seconds but then steadies herself, hands tight around his.  
  
  
“Tell me about it?” She asks softly. He glances up curiously and she elaborates, “Your life before the school. With Octavia.” She suddenly looks nervous and rushes out, “I mean, you don’t _have_ to… I just- I don’t want to pressure you. Octavia’s told me bits and bobs but- she has a very self-deprecating version of the story.” She finishes softly and it’s not the sadness in her expression that surprises him but the anger. She was _angry_ that Octavia’s version of the story made her look like the villain. He knows because he’s heard Octavia relay the story to Raven- the way her shoulders slouch and her eyes glaze over as she whispers about the weight that was on her brother’s shoulders. The weight she had put there just by being _born_.   
  
  
“Octavia thinks that my life ended the day she was born,” Bellamy says, concentrating on pulling Clarke carefully through the ice. “In reality, it didn’t start until then. That doesn’t mean it was easy… There were days when I didn’t want to get out of bed to feed and dress and be her mother while mom was god knows where doing god knows what but… I had to. _We_ had to. And after Octavia was old enough to register what was going on, she hated that she needed to rely on me. I didn’t hate it but… I didn’t always love it. I was different- _before_. I was angry and irrational and I lashed out a lot. Not at Octavia or mom, of course.” He says the last part quickly, looking up at Clarke in a slight panic. Her grip on his hands have loosened enough that when she squeezes them reassuringly, he can feel it.   
  
  
“I... didn’t love my mom very much,” he admits and it’s probably the very first time he’s said it out loud and it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. He doesn’t know what Clarke’s going to think of him but maybe it was time he just _said_ it. “I know you’re supposed to... Love your parents, but… She put Octavia and me through _a lot_. I don’t know how O feels about her and we’ve- we’ve never really spoken about it that much, but I don’t think she feels too differently. Believe me, I tried to love my mother. I did. But every time I found Octavia crying because she just- she just wanted her mother, I found myself resenting her more and more. I could feel the love slipping because dammit, Octavia deserved better.” He’s breathing a bit harder than normal and he would have run his hands through his hair frustratedly if they weren’t being grasped by Clarke. “She deserved to have a mother who loved her, who had time for her, who braided her hair and sang her to sleep.  
  
  
“Before I knew it, I was working five different jobs and trying to get Octavia through school while supporting my mother, who was steadily becoming more of a drunk.” He can’t look at Clarke, can’t look at the judgement she must have in her eyes. He feels like he’s dirtying her hands just by holding them. She was a princess while he was… he was nothing. “When Octavia found out about her powers, she told me. I told her about mine. We kept it a secret until one day, she lost control and sent things in the house flying and I had to freeze them before they could break through the windows. Mom saw. She sat us down and for one stupid, _stupid_ moment, I let myself hope. That maybe she’d be there for us. But she wasn’t. She told us,” he can feel his eyes burning but he pushes on, needing to say it out loud, “She said ‘Your powers, your burden to bear.’” Clarke sucks in a breath and he pushes down the overwhelming urge to cry. “When she died, I was relieved.”  
  
  
He lets out a short, humourless laugh and shakes his head. “We were on the run after that and… we just- we kept running. Day in, day out. Never stayed in one place too long in fear of being found. When we _were_ found, it was by Kane. I- It’s shit but… If mom never died then maybe we never would have found Kane and never would have come here so… so in a way maybe she finally did something right for us.” He suddenly realises what he just said, _hates_ himself for forgetting that he was actually talking to someone, someone who probably now thought he was a heartless monster. He keeps his gaze down when he says, “You must think I’m a pretty terrible son.”  
  
  
She stops, digging her skates into the ice and pulling him to a stop too. He expects her to let go of his hands, expects her to push him away and tell him he’s a monster. When she _does_ let go of his hands, his heart sinks but before he can put some distance between them, afraid to look up and see her disgusted expression, her hands move up his arms before wrapping around his shoulders and the next thing he feels is her hair against the side of his face as she hugs him tightly.   
  
  
“I don’t know what kind of a son you were, not with a mother like that,” she says and her voice is soft, a bit strangled and her arms tighten around him. “But I know exactly what kind of a brother you are. Octavia is very lucky to have you.” He takes a deep, shuddering breath in, feeling tears pool at his eyes with the realisation that not only was _Clarke Griffin hugging him_ but she didn’t _hate_ him for his confessions. He wraps his arms around her back tightly. When she presses closer to him, there’s a dampness near his shoulder and neck and he pushes his face into her hair, letting a few tears escape his own eyes. They stand like this until both their breathing evens out and Clarke finally releases a soft, watery chuckle. As soon as her arms begin slipping away and she pulls herself out of the embrace, her legs wobble and she loses footing.   
  
  
He grabs her tighter around the waist and pulls her back upright and she holds tightly to his arms until they’re steady again. They’re close. Too close, Bellamy thinks, when he can see the tears caught in her eyelashes, when he can see the exact shade of pink on her cheeks and the exact colour of blue in her eyes. She’s staring at him and he swears her eyes dart to his lips for a moment before she’s pulling away and he clears his throat as they straighten up properly.   
  
  
He holds out his hands, lending support but she shakes her head and smiles at him. “I got it,” she says but then she grasps his right wrist with her left hand, letting it hang between them, “-mostly,” she finishes, her smile turning sheepish.   
  
  
They just glide together for minutes, slowly around the circumference of the makeshift rink. She wobbles a couple of times but tightening her grip on his wrist, she manages to steady herself, though his other hand twitches at his side, ready to catch her if she needed.  
  
  
“I’m sorry if I pressured you into talking about your past,” she finally breaks the silence with.  
  
  
He shakes his head resolutely. “Don’t be sorry. I- I think it was good for me. That’s the first time I’ve said most of that out loud.”   
  
  
“Really?” She asks, frowning. “Not even to Raven or Miller?”  
  
  
“I don’t really make it a habit to go around telling people that I hate the woman who birthed me and gave me my sister,” he says, reaching up to scratch the back of his head awkwardly.   
  
  
“They would have understood,” she scolds him. “Especially Raven.”  
  
  
“I didn’t want to take the risk that they didn’t, I guess. I want people to think I’m an okay guy, not a monster.”  
  
  
“You were willing to risk it with me, though?” She asks and she almost looks a bit _sad_?   
  
  
He shrugs his shoulder lightly, the one that isn’t connected to the hand that connects him to Clarke. “I seem to lack a filter around you sometimes.” She smiles softly at this. “And besides- you already thought I was cold hearted so these stories would probably not do much more damage.”  
  
  
She turns to him now, frowning, but he stares ahead as they keep moving. _Someone_ had to watch where they were going. “I never thought you were cold hearted.” He raises an eyebrow. “Okay, there was a time when I _did_ but that’s because you were a serious asshole to me.”   
  
  
“Octavia thinks I’m a serious asshole to her too and yet both of you have ended up ice skating with me on Christmas Eve,” he says. “But she is not fond of the cold. She gives up after about twenty minutes. It’s a pity her brother has been blessed with the ability to manipulate the cold.”  
  
  
She’s silent for a moment and he’s not sure she’s going to reply but then she raises her head high and seems to square her shoulders slightly before speaking. “I-” Her voice comes out a bit strangled so she clears it before continuing, “I happen to quite like the cold.” His brain flatlines when her hand slips south from his wrist and and he’s pretty certain she just _hit on him_ but it was a terrible line and all he can really register are her fingers lacing between his so he guesses it _worked_?  
  
  
Finally, his mind clears enough though his heart is beating pretty wildly when he glances down at her but she keeps her sight straight ahead. He can see in the nervous set of her jaws that she seems to be _waiting._ Waiting for him to release her hand, waiting for him to push her away, waiting for him to shut her down.   
  
  
He would be a fool to do any of those things.   
  
  
So instead he tightens his fingers around hers and replies in a soft voice, “Yeah?” He stares at the side of her face, willing her to look back at him, while easing them along the arc of the edge of the rink. She does, glancing up at him shyly through her eyelashes and Bellamy never thought she’d ever reserve this expression for _him_.   
  
  
She nods and he offers her a quiet smile before looking back in front.   
  
  
“Do you miss your mom?” He asks softly as he pulls her to the centre of their rink.   
  
  
She looks up at him and smiles sadly, “Yeah. I know she was really scared when I put that girl in a coma just by kissing her. She was suddenly under a lot of scrutiny by her colleagues and by Niylah’s parents because no one understood _how_ it happened, just that one minute Nylah was in her daughter’s bedroom and the next, she was in a hospital. Mom’s always been… act first, think later. I think she was wrong, asking me to find a solution to my abilities. I think dad would have been disappointed in her and he would have done all the right things if he were alive but… he’s not…” Clarke swallows hard.  
  
  
“You’re a lot more forgiving than I am,” Bellamy says and feels guilty and pathetic for the story he had shared about _his_ mother.   
  
  
“We had very different situations, Bellamy,” Clarke says. “My mother wasn’t always like this. She was kind, she fought for family, she _loved_ me unconditionally. And I think that if dad was alive, if she was still the person she used to be before his death then… maybe things would have been different. I’m mad at her and want to hate her but- she broke after dad died. She tried to look strong but I would catch her crying in the kitchen when she thought I was upstairs and she pretty much stopped sleeping… When she started getting better, she also got harder. It was that side of her that pushed me away. We don’t have a good relationship and maybe we never will. Maybe some actions can’t be reversed and her asking me to leave was the last straw and we can’t come back from it but…”  
  
  
“You still miss her.”  
  
  
“I still miss her,” Clarke smiles sadly. “But also if she never pushed me away then I never would have found Kane and I never would have come here and met you guys.”  
  
  
“Good things can come from dark places,” Bellamy says.  
  
  
“Especially with the right people,” she adds.  
  
  
And he’s curious and they’re having a moment and he needs to know so he asks before he can chicken out, “The girl you- the one you were with when your powers manifested… has she reached out to you at all?”  
  
  
“Niylah?” Clarke asks, her lips pulled into a curious half-smile. He bobs his head. “Nah.”   
  
  
“Your girlfriend didn’t want to know where and how you were?”   
  
  
“She wasn’t my girlfriend,” Clarke says, still looking at him with the same smile. “She was just a fling. And anyway… I doubt she wants anything to do with me now that I’m… like this.” Her smile turns wry and self-deprecating when she whispers, “Who’d want a girl they can’t kiss?”   
  
  
And she’s got that expression on her face that she has every time someone is about to kiss her on the forehead or cheek but stops midway in realisation that they _can’t._ She keeps her head high and smiles it off and says it’s okay but they can all clearly see that it’s not. Because as much as Raven and Octavia and Monty want to reach out to her and press a kiss to her skin, she probably wants it more because at least the rest of them can turn to others for physical affection. She just can’t.   
  
  
So he reaches out and picks up her other hand until they’re facing each other, her hands in his again just like when they started. Pulling her slightly closer than before, he glides backwards, pulling her with him. His next words are a whisper and he almost hopes she can’t hear them but in the soft silence that stretches all around them, he knows that she can. And she deserves to.   
  
  
“She was a fool to let you go.”  
  
  
Her head snaps up and her eyes meet his before her lips pull into a wide grin. “Oh my god,” a soft laugh bubbles out. “You’re _such_ a sap, Bellamy!” His eyes widen as she releases his hands and pushes him playfully in the chest, sending him backwards. He steadies himself with little difficulty before barking out a surprised laugh and running his hand through his hair, his lips pulled upwards in an embarrassed smile. She moves towards him again before looping her arm through his and this time, she pulls him around the rink and he follows, a slightly goofy smile on his face. Bloody hell, he was _so_ far gone.   
  
  
“Side note, the only one who could probably kiss me by controlling my powers is Octavia.” He almost chokes at this and she chuckles, tightening her arm around his. “I’m just _saying_!”  
  
  
“You have a thing for Octavia?” His tone is light but _does she?_  
  
  
“I do not,” she says and then slides him a sly smirk, “That would be a super awkward situation for you, wouldn’t it?” Jesus Christ, she _knows_. She _knows_ he may or may not have a _serious_ thing for her and she’s not afraid to throw it in his face.   
  
  
“Clarke,” he groans, averting his eyes and she laughs loudly, bumping her shoulder against his and then leading them around the curve of the rink. He’s pretty sure she doesn’t need his help anymore and that she’s learnt quickly and is more than capable of skating by herself.   
  
  
They’re on the ice for another five minutes, completing an hour, and Bellamy is distinctly aware that this is the longest he’s been ice skating on Christmas Eve. As they’re unlacing their skates and pulling on their winter boots, Bellamy can see Clarke’s shoulders sagging and tiredness setting in. His body is slowly tiring as well and he can’t wait to shower and drop into bed. They walk together back to the residences and he walks with her to her room instead of stopping at the kitchen for a drink of water. He can grab it later.   
  
  
“You tired?” He asks as they reach her room.   
  
  
She nods, a weary smile on her face as she places the ice skates down by the door and pulls her cap and scarf off. “But I had a really nice time, Bellamy. Thank you for letting me join you.”  
  
  
“Thank you for joining me,” he says. They stare at each other, soft smiles, until he shakes out of it and realises he can’t stand there forever. “Christmas party tomorrow evening. You coming, right?”  
  
  
“How could I miss it?” she grins.   
  
  
“Cool,” he bobs his head and then clears his throat. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”   
  
  
“Mm-hmm,” she hums. “Goodnight, Bellamy.”   
  
  
“Goodnight, Clarke.”  
  
  
+++  
  
  
Octavias storms through their room early the next morning, just before breakfast, and stands over Bellamy while he’s concluding his History essay for Nyko.   
  
  
“Firstly, stop working. It’s Christmas, you big nerd,” she starts by saying. “Secondly, Clarke just gave me back _these_ ,” she drops the ice skates by his desk and he glances down to see what they are before returning to his essay. “Did she go ice skating with you last night?”  
  
  
“Yep.”  
  
  
“And was that your jumper I saw her wearing?”   
  
  
“Yep.” His cheeks have begun colouring at the thought of Clarke still wearing his jumper. Maybe he should just avoid looking at her during breakfast.   
  
  
“Why the hell are you blushing?” He curses in his head and ducks closer to his paper in an attempt to hide his face from her. “Did you guys kiss last night or something?!”   
  
  
He snorts, “You do realise that if I were to kiss her, she’d put me in a coma, right?”   
  
  
“Does that mean you _want_ to kiss her?” His sister demands and he sighs, leaning back into his chair a little, realising there was no escaping her.  
  
  
“I’m not disgusted by the idea,” he finally says, concentrating on finishing the sentence he’s writing. He refuses to look up at his sister, who is silent for a few seconds before-  
  
  
“Holy shit.” He doesn’t reply and she says it again.  
  
  
“ _What_ , O?” He grits out.  
  
  
“Holy _shit_ ,” she repeats again, grabbing his arm and pulling his attention to her wide eyes and shit-eating grin. “You _like_ her. You like Clarke Griffin. Like you like her-like her.”  
  
  
He rolls his eyes even though he’s pretty sure his face is flaming right now and he knows that she can tell. “Grow up, Octavia.”  
  
  
“I cannot wait to tell Raven.” She begins to run off but this time _he_ grabs _her_ arm.   
  
  
“You will not say a damn thing to anyone.” She turns to him.  
  
  
“On one condition.”   
  
  
“What?” He grits out.  
  
  
“I want the truth. You like her- yes or no?” Fuck, she had played him.   
  
  
He swallows hard before squeezing his eyes shut and saying, “Yes.”   
  
  
She grins and picks up the ice skates to return them to her cupboard. Then, she flops backwards onto his bed and stares at the ceiling, smile never leaving her face. There’s silence for a good five minutes during which he finishes his essay and she seems content just lying there. His heart has just about returned to beating normally again when she says softly, “If it’s worth anything… I’m really glad, Bell. You deserve to be happy with someone who loves you very much.”  
  
  
He feels choked up and spins his pen between his fingers, needing something else to concentrate on, and clears his throat. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. She doesn’t even like me back.” And he may not be twelve but this was probably the first girl he’s ever liked. He’d never had time to think about stuff like this, think about romance and love and being _happy._ Amidst wrestling a bottle out of his mother’s clutches, holding his sister tight while she cried over their mother’s dead body and hiding in dark, spider-infested alleys, he had been convinced he wasn’t meant for things like that.  
  
  
“I think you’d be surprised,” Octavia says and he thinks of the way Clarke wrapped her arms around his neck after he told her about his mother. Thinks of the way she slipped her fingers through his and smiled shyly up at him. Thinks about the way she grinned, her cheeks pink, when it started getting pretty clear that he probably had a thing for her. And thinks that maybe, if she did feel the same way, he _wouldn’t_ be that surprised. And he feels a little giddy at that.  
  
  
+++  
  
  
“You’re hopeless, Blake,” Bellamy startles, turning to his doorway. Raven strolls in, dressed in an obnoxiously bright green sweater with a golden spanner across the front.   
  
  
“Merry Christmas to you too, Reyes,” Bellamy rolls his eyes. And then he takes in her stiff shoulders and slightly red eyes and instantly holds his arms out. She steps into his embrace and he holds her tightly, pressing a quick kiss into her hairline.   
  
  
“How was it?” He asks quietly.   
  
  
She sighs, fingers tightening at the back of his shirt. “I don’t grieve that she’s gone. I grieve for the life she never gave me, and for all the things she took from me. Does that make me a terrible person?” Her voice catches and she presses her face deeper into his shoulder.  
  
  
Bellamy shakes his head firmly, one hand rising to cradle the back of her head gently, like he does with Octavia. “Hell, no. You’re speaking to someone who has an equally complicated relationship with his dead mother. You’re allowed to grieve the way you want to, for the things that matter to you, without feeling guilty about it.”  
  
  
“Do you ever stop grieving for the life you could never have?” Raven asks.  
  
  
“Yes,” Bellamy answers honestly. “One day, you’ll be able to visit her grave and you’ll find that the value you hold for the life you have now is far greater than the value you held for the life that could never be.”   
  
  
Raven takes a moment to let his words sink in before breathing deeply, nodding and unwinding her arms from around Bellamy. She swipes at her eyes before shooting him a watery smirk, “try to sound less like a fucking wise old man next time, okay?” He grins at her before reaching out to ruffle her hair and she bats his hand away, dodging out of reach.   
  
  
“Now back to your dilemma,” she says, turning to the two sweaters laid out on his bed. “Are you this hopeless, that you can’t decide what to wear to a casual christmas party?”  
  
  
He sighs heavily. “I just… want to make the right choice.”  
  
  
“She’ll be happy either way, you know?” Raven comments in an airy voice that suggests she knows far too much.  
  
  
“I… What are you talking about?” Bellamy asks, having a bad feeling about where this conversation was heading. Should he kick her out right now?  
  
  
“If you wear _that_ sweater,” Raven nods at the one on the right- a bright green and red striped one with a cute snowman in a christmas hat, “she’ll be ecstatic that you wore Wells’ present. And if you wear _that_ one,” she gestures to the one on the left- a very familiar pink one, around the collar of which Clarke had recently embroidered white snowflakes into, “she’ll be ecstatic that you’re wearing her sweater.”  
  
  
Bellamy tightens his jaw. “Did Octavia…” he trails off, instantly knowing he shouldn’t have said anything at all.  
  
  
“No, but that just confirmed my suspicions,” Raven says. There’s a beat of silence before she says, quietly, “I’m not blind, Bellamy. I’ve seen the way you look at her. And you guys weren’t exactly discreet, ice skating together last night.” Bellamy says nothing, just stares irritatedly at the sweaters. A hand touches his arm. “I’m really glad for you both.”  
  
  
“There’s nothing to be glad about,” Bellamy says, wishing an end to the conversation.   
  
  
Raven doesn’t bark out a laugh at the lie like he expects her to. Because it’s obviously a lie, clear as day to both of them. Instead her fingers tighten around his elbow and she says, “Don’t hurt her, okay?”   
  
  
His palms feel sweaty all of a sudden, with the realisation that Raven was giving him her blessings. Not like he needed it, but he knows Clarke would probably appreciate it, someone looking out for her.   
  
  
“What if she hurts me?” He replies lightly, offering her a small smile.  
  
  
“I’ll kick her ass,” Raven grins back, pushing her elbow into his side. His smile widens and he ducks his head, feeling grateful.   
  
  
“Wear Wells’,” she finally says, nodding at the red and green sweater. You’ll match with the rest of us that way. I think Clarke would like that more.” The whole group of them- Bellamy, Octavia, Raven, Miller, Jasper, Monty, Harper and even Lincoln and Murphy- had woken up to presents sitting outside their doors. Brightly coloured christmas sweaters for each of them. ( _“Fucking hideous,”_ Murphy had muttered at the grumpy reindeer on his sweater before pulling it over his head). With the sweaters were cards that read ‘ _Thank you for letting me be part of your lives. Here’s to many more Christmases together. Yours truly, Wells’_. There was more than one teary recipient and Wells reckoned he had never been hugged as much and as fiercely as he had been that lunch.  
  
  
Bellamy nods in agreement and pulls on the sweater.   
  
  
“They’re so ugly, oh my god,” Raven laughs boisterously.   
  
  
“Yeah, but they’re ours,” Bellamy smiles softly, smoothening down the front of his sweater and allowing his grin to widen at the sight of the happy snowman. Raven wordlessly and wholeheartedly agrees, hugging her sweater into herself. “Shall we?” He turns to Raven, gesturing to the door. She links arms with him and they set off to the main building, where a Christmas party is in full swing already.   
  
  
They’re halfway there when Raven leans into Bellamy and says softly, “Thanks, Bell.”   
  
  
“Always,” Bellamy replies. “We got each other now. We move forward together.”   
  
  
The lack of alcohol at the party makes no difference to any of their energies. Spirits are high and Kane even makes a round hugging every student that doesn’t seem to mind. It seems to mean a lot to the younger students, especially the new ones, to have a father-figure showing them love this Christmas. But the gratitude extends from the older students in equal amounts. Octavia holds extra tightly to her Professor and he lets her stay in his embrace until she has composed herself again. Tears aside, the sight of Indra and Diyoza in Christmas sweaters are the cherry on top of a spectacular party.   
  
  
At some point in the evening, mistletoe materialises at the living room doorway and from the way Jasper is hanging around underneath it, it’s not hard to guess where it came from. He has a cheshire grin on his face whenever he points up at the leaves before sticking his cheek out to anyone passing through the doorway. Everyone is too high on happiness to mind at all, and a few girls and boys even plant him one right on the mouth, leaving him speechless.   
  
  
It’s all in good fun until Clarke and Harper return from the bathroom and Clarke walks through the doorway, only to pause with wide eyes when chants of “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” sound from over at the pool table. A bunch of boys from Jasper’s defense class are cheering on with wide smiles, completely oblivious to why the mistletoe was no longer inciting laughter.   
  
  
Clarke glances questioningly at Jasper, who is staring between her and the mistle-toe, mouth awkwardly fumbling for an apology he can’t seem to word together. Clarke follows his eyeline up and realises what hangs above them. She knows the drill. She also knows it doesn’t- _can’t_ \- apply to her.   
  
  
Harper, who they’ve never heard cussing, reaches out and lightly slaps Jasper on the arm. “Jasper, you idiot!” Jasper stands there stuttering, completely lost for words in his guilt and embarrassment.   
  
  
Clarke puts a gentle hand on his arm and smiles at him, though everyone can see that it doesn’t meet her eyes. “It’s okay.”  
  
  
“Clarke, I’m-”  
  
  
“It’s fine, Jasper, honestly. Don’t even worry about it, okay? Go get me a drink instead,” she says, giving him a wink and gentle nudge in the direction of the dining room.   
  
  
He hurries off, head hanging low in shame, and she smiles at her friends reassuringly, none of whom know what to do. Harper squeezes her shoulder.  
  
  
“I’m fine, really,” Clarke says to her before gesturing towards the sofas, where their friends are gathered. “You go on in, I’ll catch up in a second.” Harper hesitates before nodding and joining Raven on the floor by the fireplace. Clarke takes a moment, looking down at her hands and sucking in a deep breath through her nose.   
  
  
Bellamy watches her. Watches as her cheerful facade drops for a moment. Watches as she closes her eyes to breathe in and out a few times. And he watches as her hands begin to tremble and she turns away, about to step out of the room. And he moves as fast as his legs can carry him.  
  
  
He reaches out and catches her wrist just before she can leave the doorway. She startles and turns back in surprise and he knows that everyone is staring, he _knows this_ , but the only thing he cares about at that very moment is the girl in front of him. And the way she had said _“Who’d want a girl they can’t kiss?_ ” and he wants her to know, he _needs_ her to know.   
  
  
So he moves to stand right across from her, slips his hand down from her wrist to her hand and grasps her fingers. She studies him, looking almost afraid- lips parted and eyes worried. There’s deafening silence in the living room and he wishes they were somewhere more private because what he’s about to do might not be a big deal to most but he knows that to her, to _him_ , it’s incredibly intimate.   
  
  
He takes her other hand and pulls both her hands upwards slowly, eyes locked onto hers. And he hopes that she understands and hopes that she knows that he _means it_ when he presses a firm, lingering kiss to her gloved knuckles.   
  
  
Her eyes shift from nervous to confused to completely, wholly in _awe_ as he pulls his lips away from her hands. They continue to stare at each other and for those moments, they forget that there’s an audience watching them.   
  
  
“Did I miss something?” Jasper’s voice behind them startles them and tears suddenly spring to Clarke’s eyes as she averts them away from Bellamy.   
  
  
“Jasper, you idiot!” Raven yells but before Bellamy can begin to panic, a watery laugh bubbles out of Clarke and she looks up at him with a smiling mouth and sparkling eyes.   
  
  
“Holy shit, did you two-”  
  
  
“ _No_!” Bellamy snaps, reaching out to shove Jasper, who tethers precariously with the lemonade in his hand. Clarke laughs again and reaches up to swipe at her wet eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. The last of Bellamy’s worries vanish when she ushers Jasper into the living room before reaching back to catch Bellamy’s hand in hers. He’s thankful when nobody says anything, though he knows that he won’t hear the end of it from Octavia or Raven or Miller, or actually _any_ of them. He’s certain, based on the gleeful eyes that are watching them from the easy chair by the television, that even Kane will bring it up at some point.   
  
  
He can’t find it in himself to care one bit. He decides that he is willing to endure hours of teasing from his friends (and Professors) so long as Clarke’s fingers remain entwined with his.  
  
  
“You sappy romantic piece of shit,” Raven comments the next morning.  
  
  
+++  
  
  
The day after Christmas is spent lounging around, watching television and playing games. Everybody remains in their pajamas and the fireplace roars to life when Monty says its a bit cold and Miller springs into action.   
  
  
It’s the day after that when Bellamy begins to worry. Clarke starts disappearing into her room between meals, emerging later with slightly red eyes. She begins pulling away, and at first he wonders if something has happened with Wells or her mother, but then he realises she’s not pulling away from all of them, just _him_. He asks Octavia, and then Raven, but both say that Clarke hasn’t mentioned anything to them, which worries him more.   
  
  
He wonders what changed between Christmas, the day after and then the day after that. He doesn’t think he did anything wrong, and it’s not like anything had _changed_ since the mistletoe incident. They both seemed content with taking it slow, and neither had actually seemed inclined to speak about it. That was okay for him, he was happy with slow, he was happy with _normal_. Maybe she wasn’t?  
  
  
Four days after Christmas, he knocks on her door. She doesn’t seem surprised by him, just nervous.   
  
  
“Can we talk?” He asks and she nods jerkily, stepping back. He closes the door behind him and they move into the room. She stands by her desk, arms crossed over her chest.  
  
  
“Do you want to tell me why you’re avoiding me?” He asks, leaning against the windowsill.   
  
  
“I- I’m not…”   
  
  
“That would feel more convincing if you actually looked at me,” Bellamy responds quietly. “Clarke… if something’s wrong, you can talk to me. I- I know what I did was a bit sudden but I just-”  
  
  
“That’s as far as it’s going to go,” Clarke suddenly interrupts him, as if she had to speak before she lost confidence. She finally meets his eyes. “What happened at Christmas is as far as it can go.”  
  
  
“I don’t understand,” Bellamy says. “I mean- Clarke, if you don’t feel that way about me, that’s okay. We can just- we should talk about it.” He feels his heart sinking. Had he misread _everything_?  
  
  
“That’s not what I mean,” Clarke says. “I don’t know why you kissed me on Christmas but-”  
  
  
“Excuse me?” Bellamy cuts through. “Do you really not know why I kissed you? I thought I made it pretty clear.”  
  
  
Clarke licks her lips nervously, averts her eyes. “If you did it because you pitied me-”  
  
  
“ _Clarke_ ,” Bellamy splutters, beginning to feel a bit insulted. “What are you talking about? You know damn well I didn’t do it because I _pitied_ you. Tell me that you know why I kissed you.” She squeezes her eyes shut. “Please tell me, Clarke. Do you want me to spell it out for you?”  
  
  
“It doesn’t matter if you did it out of pity or something else,” she replies, opening her eyes to stare down at her fidgeting hands. He opens his mouth but she shakes her head firmly, cutting him off. “That kiss on the knuckles, Bellamy?” She looks up at him. “That’s as far as it’s ever going to. You do realise that, right?”   
  
  
And he finally understands what she means, why she’s trying to push him away, why she’s _nervous_. “Of course I do,” he says softly.  
  
  
“No, I don’t think you do,” she says. “You’re never going to be able to touch me or kiss me or-” she breaks off, breaths coming out shorter.  
  
  
“I know that. It doesn’t matter to me.”  
  
  
“It’s _going_ to matter to you when it’s been months of being with me and it’s going to start frustrating you. I don’t want you to pity me and I don’t want you to resent me for something I can’t control.”  
  
  
“Do you really think so little of yourself, and of me?” Bellamy says. He walks over to her, grasps her shoulders gently. “Clarke, I _like_ you.”  
  
  
Tears spring to her eyes. “You shouldn’t.”   
  
  
“You don’t really get to make that choice for me. You think I haven’t thought about all of this? I have,” he says honestly. “And I realised it doesn’t matter to me. We’ll figure it out.”  
  
  
“There’s nothing _to_ figure out, Bellamy!” Clarke cries out. “Don’t you get it? This is permanent. This is forever- this is _it_. You won’t get anything else from me.”  
  
  
“I don’t _want_ anything else from you,” Bellamy replies, eyes pleading.   
  
  
“You’ll resent me,” she whispers, tears slipping down her cheeks.  
  
  
“Give me a chance to show you that I won’t,” he implores. “Do you like me, Clarke?” He feels silly for asking, but it was as simple as that.   
  
  
She doesn’t respond, just tears her eyes away from his. He stares at her crumpled face for a moment before letting his hands drop to his sides. Her eyes squeeze shut at the loss of contact. “Okay, well… I’m not going anywhere. So… Once you’ve figured out whether you want to give me a chance- I don’t know, let me know or something…” He wants to reach out to her, wants to talk this out, but she doesn’t seem to want to do the same. So he leaves.   
  
  
+++  
  
  
“Do you know if mom and dad are okay again?” Bellamy hears Jasper whisper to Monty two days later. Raven shakes her head discreetly at the boys but Bellamy notices that too. Everyone’s been walking on eggshells around him and Clarke since their talk. No one’s quite certain what happened. Clarke doesn’t seem to have told anybody, not even Octavia or Raven, and Bellamy finds it too private a matter to share. If it were just about him, he would’ve told Octavia by now. But this was about Clarke, and her feelings about her powers and her doubts about her role in a relationship, so it was not his place to share any of that with others.   
  
  
It’s New Years Eve and Kane has given them permission to go to Polis for the New Years Market, the biggest and brightest fair Polis holds all year.   
  
  
“It’s none of our business,” Monty replies quietly. “I’m sure they’ll figure it out soon.”  
  
  
Bellamy hopes so too. He misses Clarke’s friendship, her companionship. And the group hasn’t really felt the same since they fought. Everyone’s a bit quiet and worried.  
  
  
They board the train that will take them from Ark station to Polis, chattering quietly amongst each other. They find their seats easily- Monty sits with Miller, Jasper sits with Harper, Lincoln with Octavia and when Raven drops into the seat beside Murphy, the remaining two students have to pause. Bellamy shoots a glare at Raven, pleads with her through his expression, but she simply shrugs back, nodding towards the last two empty seats.   
  
  
He sighs heavily and turns to see that Clarke has already sat down quietly at the window seat. He sits down beside her, mumbling an apology, though it isn’t really his fault.   
  
  
It’s not a long journey, just twenty minutes between the two cities. But the silence between them is heavy and awkward and Bellamy wishes with everything he had that it wasn’t.   
  
  
Five minutes before they’re due to pull into Polis, the train screeches to a halt. There’s a moment of silence as all the passengers pause at the abrupt stop. Octavia turns to Bellamy, a question on her lips. That’s when the doors on either end of the carriage burst open. Men and women in black tactical gear come storming in, rifles in hand, and then there’s screaming.   
  
  
There’s a loud gunshot followed by one of the men yelling, “Everyone put your hands on your head and don’t move.”   
  
  
Fingers close around Bellamy’s arm and he turns to Clarks. “What do we do?” She asks. He has no idea. Fight and they expose themselves as mutants. Do nothing and perhaps the danger is worse.  
  
  
“We don’t know what they want, so let’s just do what they ask,” Bellamy mumbles, raising his hands over his head as the men storm down the corridor towards them. Clarke follows and they turn to see their friends doing the same.   
  
  
Bellamy’s heart begins to race when one of the men point towards their group and the others nod. Nine armed men and women surround their group, rifles pointed at them. Bellamy’s fingers twitch, ready to attack. As do Raven’s, and Miller’s, and Lincoln’s, and Octavia’s.   
  
  
“You attack,” the man in front of Bellamy says before pointing his rifle at a civilian sitting across the aisle, “and she dies. Got it?” Bellamy swallows hard, nodding curtly.   
  
  
“That’s her,” the woman behind the man says, and Bellamy is horrified when she gestures towards Clarke.   
  
  
“Bellamy...” Clarke whispers, voice stuttering. Bellamy pushes to his feet and shields Clarke with his body.   
  
  
“Who are you? What do you want from us?” He asks. Amidst his heightened fear for Clarke, he misses the nine rifles taking aim and before any of them can react, shots are fired. Their friends go down instantly, slumping into their seats, arms dropping.   
  
  
But as fast as the rifles were shot, Bellamy’s powers are somehow faster. He isn’t sure how it happens, and how his brain reacted so much quicker than he did, but before the bullet can hit him, his body turns completely into ice. The bullet simply bounces off the iced up surface of his shoulder, falling to the ground. Clarke gasps behind him, and he knows it’s both because of his new ability and the fact that he had just revealed himself as a mutant to anybody watching. There’s mumbling and crying spreading through the civilians in the train.   
  
  
Bellamy glances quickly at his sister across the aisle. No blood. A closer look at her and at the bullet that bounced off him tells him they aren’t bullets at all but tranquiliser darts.   
  
  
“Step away from the girl,” the man says, swapping his rifle with a handgun withdrawn from his vest. He points it at Bellamy and neither of them are sure if Bellamy’s icy shield will hold out against _these_ bullets. 

  
“Like hell I will,” Bellamy doesn’t move and the man has to change tactics. He points his handgun at Octavia’s unconscious body.   
  
  
“If she doesn’t come with us then the next one will kill your friend. Now step away from the girl.”  
  
  
“What do you want from her?” Bellamy growls. Even through the ice, he can feel Clarke’s fingers pressing into his back. He can feel her fear, he can feel his own.   
  
  
“I won’t repeat myself. Step away from her,” the man says, finger on the trigger.   
  
  
“Bellamy, you have to let them take me,” Clarke says and he can’t see her but he knows that she’s crying. “It’s okay.” Bellamy knows fighting back isn’t an option. With a gun pointed at Octavia and nine of them against his powers, he doesn’t stand a chance. “I know you’ll find me,” Clarke whispers. “Let me go. _Please_ , Bellamy.”   
  
  
Bellamy breathes hard, unable to think. _Who the hell were these people?_  
  
  
“There’s no other choice,” Clarke pleads. And he knows she’s right.  
  
  
Bellamy swallows hard before reaching behind him. Clarke grasps his hand and he squeezes her fingers, feeling helpless, before moving to the side. As she’s stepping into the aisle, fingers laced tightly with his, he feels a heavy weight land at the back of his head. His powers drop, the ice retracting back into his skin and leaving him defenseless. A shot is fired and he feels the dart pierce his neck. His vision goes black and he falls to the ground, Clarke’s fingers slipping out of his.  
  
+++

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed that one! Only two more chapters to go now- the next one will be very action filled + inspired by the climax of the first X-Men movie, so Im super super excited to write it and show you :') I hope to get this story done in the coming month!  
> Thank you so so much for all your love and support, it's meant a lot to me that you've liked my story so much! Always happy to read your feedback.  
> Take care, everyone! xx be kind to yourselves.


	5. Power

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO ALL YOU LOVELY READERS! I know it's been a while since I updated last, and I'm so sorry! My job has been really chaotic so I didn't have a lot of time or energy to work on this. But after many days of writers block and many more days of feeling really touched and motivated by your lovely comments, it's here! It was a really hard chapter to write- because of all the intricate action and the emotions and the different characters, and because I did the whole thing from Bellamy's POV- so it was a bit complex to get done, but it's finally ready! I hope I managed to do it justice. It was really tough to write so if there's anything that doesn't work, I'm super sorry in advance. I hope you like it, and see you at the end notes! xx

  
“Bellamy!” He can hear his name being called in the distance, a muffled cry. He feels a sharp stab of pain at the back of his head but when he tries to roll his neck, he finds that he cannot.   
  
  
“Bellamy, wake up!”  
  
  
 _Octavia_ , he realises with a start. As his mind awakens, he starts to remember what had happened. The train, the armed men and women, the tranquilisers, the ice, Clarke. _Clarke_.   
  
  
His eyes fly open and when the back of his head throbs, he tries to lift his hand up to touch his injury, see if there’s any blood. There _must_ be blood. But his hands are trapped and he cannot move them. He tries to glance down to see what is weighing his arms down but finds that he can’t move his head either. He soon realises with a jolt of panic that his entire body is immovable.   
  
  
He finally looks up and notices Monty strapped to the wall across him- arms and legs encased in metal cylinders and head wrapped in a metal helmet, all welded securely to the wall behind him. He drags his eyes across the wall opposite him and sees Murphy and Harper on Monty’s left and Lincoln to his right. He imagines Jasper, Octavia, Miller and Raven are strapped on one or either side of him. At least he hopes so.  
  
  
“What the hell is going on? Where are we?” Bellamy asks, his fearful heart thumping in his ears. “Where’s Clarke?”  
  
  
“We don’t know,” it’s Raven who answers, from his right. “We all woke up like this. Clarke isn’t here.”  
  
  
“But all the rest of us are?” He asks to be sure.  
  
  
“Yes,” Monty nods, eyes sweeping Bellamy’s left and right.  
  
  
“Octavia, can you reach Kane?” Bellamy calls.   
  
  
“The helmets they have on us block any telepathic connections,” Octavia says from Bellamy’s left. “And the cylinders they have around our hands block our powers too.” Bellamy suddenly realises exactly how terrified Octavia sounds. When he looks up, there are identical expressions of dread on the faces of the four across him. It horrifies him to think that there have been machines built to incapacitate mutants.   
  
  
“We’re powerless,” Harper says softly.   
  
  
Bellamy tries, even though he _knows_ it won’t work. He tries anyway. Curls and uncurls his fingers, tries to create ice from his palms. Nothing.   
  
  
“How long have we been here?” Bellamy asks.   
  
  
“I woke up first,” Lincoln says, “Only five minutes ago. But who knows how long we’ve been knocked out before that.”  
  
  
“What do we do, Bellamy?” Jasper asks.  
  
  
“Can you phase through the metal, Jasper?” Bellamy asks.  
  
  
“We’ve tried everything,” Miller says as Jasper shakes his head in response.   
  
  
There is tense silence as Bellamy studies the chains holding Monty. And then his eyes touch on Monty’s chest, which have no metal bindings. He says slowly, “They assumed that all our powers emanate from our hands or our heads. They didn’t account for Murphy.” His eyes flick to Murphy to find that the other boy is already looking at him.  
  
  
“I already considered it,” Murphy says. “No way. In case you didn’t notice, I can’t move my chest very much. If I release a solar blast, the only place it’s going to hit is Octavia’s chest. And that is a _terrible_ idea.”   
  
  
“But your energy _originates_ from your chest, right?” Monty asks. “You transfer your energy from your chest to your hands when you use them, don’t you?”  
  
  
Murphy pauses, wondering where Monty’s thoughts were going. “Yes, so?”  
  
  
“What if you concentrate on transferring that energy to your eyes instead?” Monty asks.  
  
  
“And do what? Blast Octavia’s face?”  
  
  
“No,” Octavia says, catching on. “You’re taller than me, Murphy. If you solar blast from your eyes, it’s going to hit my helmet.”  
  
  
“That is way too risky,” Murphy says quickly. “Even slightly misaimed and it’s going to hit your face, Octavia.”  
  
  
“Can you do it though?” Miller asks. “Can you transfer your energy to your eyes?”  
  
  
Murphy swallows hard. “Indra’s been teaching me how.”  
  
  
“You have to try,” Octavia says.  
  
  
“I can fucking kill you, Octavia,” Murphy says. “I am _not_ taking this risk.”  
  
  
“I trust that you won’t,” Octavia replies.  
  
  
“Bellamy?” Murphy questions, eyes flicking to him.   
  
  
Bellamy considers the options and realises quite quickly that there are none. He releases an anxious breath, worries his lower lip apprehensively. “It’s dangerous.”  
  
  
“He just needs to crack my helmet enough for my telekinesis to return,” Octavia says and she sounds far too confident for someone who’s asking for a ray of powerful solar energy to be blasted at her face. “Once my mind has that break, I can stop the rest of the solar blast before it can touch my skin.”  
  
  
“Octavia…” Bellamy whispers. It’s more than just risking Murphy’s solar blast. It’s risking using a lot of Octavia’s own telekinesis, an amount that she could very possibly lose control over. From the silence in the room, everybody is considering this.   
  
  
“Bellamy, it’s our only choice,” she says firmly. “We need to go find Clarke. If _this_ is what’s happened to us, imagine what’s happening to her. We have to go save her. It’s the only way.”  
  
  
Bellamy’s breathing grows heavy. _Clarke_ …  
  
  
“I can do it, Bell,” Octavia promises. “Trust me.” He feels a swell of pride for his baby sister but he wishes, he _wishes_ it weren’t in a situation where she was risking her life.   
  
  
“Only if you’re sure,” he finally says, heart heavy.   
  
  
“I’m sure,” Octavia says.   
  
  
“Guys, I don’t even know if I _can_ redirect my energy. I’ve never done it before,” Murphy says.  
  
  
“Your powers do unexpected things when it knows that you need it,” Bellamy says. “I didn’t get tranquilised when the rest of you did because my body turned to ice before the dart could make contact.”  
  
  
“ _What?”_ Raven’s exclamation was the loudest, but it wasn’t the only one.   
  
  
“So focus, Murphy. Focus and call upon your powers to do what you need it to do,” Bellamy says. “It’s a life and death situation. Your powers will listen.”  
  
  
“Good advice that I can’t imagine I can execute,” Murphy mumbles. But he closes his eyes and breathes in deeply through his nose. Bellamy watches, breath held. They all do.   
  
  
And then finally, he opens his eyes but they don’t see familiar white and blue. They see red.   
  
  
Bright red energy beams blast out of his open eyes and Bellamy can’t _breathe_ because it’s clear that Murphy is trying his best to control the volume of the blast but he’s inexperienced and has never done this before and Bellamy is worried, worried worried _worried_ for his little sister, whose helmet is taking the full brunt of the blast and he can’t see her but he imagines that her eyes are squeezed shut and squeezing tighter and tighter and tighter and then finally-  
  
  
An audible crack. And then Bellamy watches from the corner of his eye as an invisible force pushes the solar beam away from Octavia and redirects it upwards.  
  
  
“Murphy, stop!” Harper cries. Murphy’s eyes snap shut immediately and Octavia’s shield vanishes. Bellamy is worried that his heart will burst out of his chest at the rate it’s beating.   
  
  
“Now what?” Monty whispers through the sudden stillness in the air.   
  
  
“Now this,” Octavia says. And he can’t see his sister but when she acts next, he can _feel_ her telekinesis. It’s as if she collects all the energy pulsing through the room and brings it towards herself. And he feels the vibrations of her powers through the wall behind him that connects the two of them. He wishes he could see her but he’s glad that he cannot because he already knows that she is exerting herself beyond the guarded limitations of her powers.  
  
  
And when he hears the crack and crunch of metal, he is afraid. Afraid because he knows that her powers are a wild beast caged within her mind. Afraid because he knows that she is voluntarily uncaging the beast this very moment. Afraid because it is the only way that they can save Clarke.  
  
  
He hears her land on the ground. Out of her shackles, she runs to him first. And he wills himself not to cry in fear when she reaches out, palms facing each other and hovering above one of the metal cylinders around his arm. He sees her jaw clench as she focuses her powers, and then the cylinder cracks and falls apart. Sweat beaded on her forehead, she looks up at him and grins.   
  
  
“Get yourself out of the other one please, big brother,” she says, stepping away from him. “I don’t think I should attempt that again.” He agrees with relief and uses his free hand to ice the other cylinder before punching it with an iced fist, shattering it. Arms free, he ices his helmet before hesitating. Could he do it again? Voluntarily this time? He focuses his energy from his hands to the rest of his body, takes the advice he gave Murphy, and wills his powers to act for him. He feels a rush of coldness wash over his body and Octavia gasps at the sight of her brother with a body made of ice. He grins widely at her before jerking his head forward sharply, shattering the helmet.   
  
  
“Holy _shit_ ,” Octavia says.   
  
  
“You weren’t kidding,” Monty breathes in awe.   
  
  
Bellamy breaks Ravens free, then Miller and within no time at all, all of them are standing together in the middle of the large empty metal room, massaging ankles and wrists and necks.   
  
  
“I’ve already reached Kane,” Octavia says. “He knew we went missing but couldn’t trace us because of the helmets.”  
  
  
“Where are we?” Lincoln asks.  
  
  
“He’s not sure,” Octavia says. “But he’s linking up with Cerebro on the jet and they’re going to find us.”   
  
  
“What’s their ETA?” Raven questions, glancing down at her wrist-watch. “Fuck, it’s been an hour and a half since we were captured on the train.”  
  
  
“ETA uncertain,” Octavia says. “Kane says he can’t trace Clarke but there’s a massive surge of mutant power coming from near where we are.”  
  
  
“Clarke must be there,” Jasper says. “We should go there, right?”  
  
  
“Should we wait for Kane?” Miller asks seriously. “We have no idea what’s out there.”   
  
  
“If Kane can’t register any other mutants near us, then we have an upper hand,” Raven reasons.  
  
  
“Yes but we were still taken down in the train,” Murphy says.  
  
  
“We weren’t ready then,” Bellamy says. “We are now.”  
  
  
“So we don’t wait for reinforcements?” Monty asks.  
  
  
“We can’t sit back and do _nothing_ while we wait for Kane,” Octavia says. “Clarke could be in trouble.”   
  
  
“But you have the option to stay if you want to,” Bellamy says, turning to the others, Monty and Jasper and Harper in particular. “No one’s asking you to fight if you’re not ready to.”   
  
  
“If you’re fighting, we’re fighting,” Monty says before glancing at Jasper and Harper, who nod firmly. “We survive together.”   
  
  
“Okay,” Bellamy says, looking at each of them in turn. “Let’s go save Clarke.”  
  
  
As they run through one corridor after another, they realise they’re in a big laboratory, a medical facility of some sort. Every corner they turn, ready to attack, they find deserted.   
  
  
“Wait. Eyes from the outside might help,” Harper says, running over to a large floor-to-ceiling window. She pushes it open before closing her eyes and focusing her energy. They watch as large white wings extend out of her back. She crouches low before launching herself upwards and out of the window, wings flapping magnificently.   
  
  
She’s gone for only a minute before she returns, touching down gently beside them. “The energy surge is from the top floor. A lot of armed guards so I couldn’t get close enough to see where the surge was coming from without being seen.”  
  
  
“Let’s go,” Bellamy says and Harper leads the way, having a better idea of the building layout from her surveillance. As they ascend a large spiral stairs, the noise above them gets louder and louder. They can hear a machine and the crackle of live electricity, and amidst all that, they can hear-  
  
  
“ _Clarke_ ,” Bellamy breathes, as they hear her screams cut through the air. They all suddenly climb faster, hearts in their throats.   
  
  
“Stop,” Octavia says quickly, holding Bellamy back before he can burst through the large doors that separate the nine of them from Clarke. “Are we ready?” She asks them all carefully and Bellamy is glad that his sister is asking the necessary questions, the ones he can’t think of through a brain that is addled with acute terror for Clarke.   
  
  
“We got this,” Raven says, clenching and unclenching her fists, getting ready for battle.   
  
  
“There are at least fourteen guards in there,” Harper says. “They look like military. There was just one man by the window who wasn’t dressed like the others. I think he might be the leader.”  
  
  
“Okay, Raven and Miller go left,” Octavia instructs, pointing out their route. “Murphy and Lincoln go straight ahead. Bellamy and Jasper go right. Monty, I need you to stay back and portal as many people away as possible. Harper, you feeling strong?” She turns to the other girl.  
  
  
“What do you need?” Harper asks.  
  
  
“I need you to fly me straight to the man you think is the leader- the one who isn’t in tactical gear.” Harper nods. “Monty, watch our backs, okay?”  
  
  
“What about Clarke?” Murphy asks.  
  
  
“We can’t help Clarke if we’re taken down,” Lincoln says. “We clear our path first and then we save Clarke.”   
  
  
“Everyone ready?” Octavia asks. Harper extends her wings and wraps her arms around Octavia from behind. “Let’s do this.” Raven pushes open the door and the nine of them burst through, powers at the ready. The armed men and women take a second to react, surprise evident on their faces. And a second is all the advantage they need.   
  
  
Raven knocks two guards down with a well-aimed earthquake, Miller then slams them into the back wall using blasts of fire. Lincoln, finding no immediate Earth to bend, tackles a guard head-on, disarming him with practiced ease picked up from years of training with Diyoza. Murphy hits a fourth guard with a solar blast and he’s knocked out before he can even lift his weapon. Bellamy runs at a guard and encases her in ice and when another guard fires at him, Jasper grabs his wrist and the bullets pass through Bellamy as if he were a ghost. While the guard takes a moment to snap out of his shock, Monty creates a portal behind him and Jasper surges forward and pushes the man through. The portal disappears and reappears in the room that had imprisoned them. Raven and Miller take another guard down, Murphy throws one out the window, Lincoln disarms and incapacitates another and Monty portals one away. Bellamy ices two more with an ease that is fuelled by his hurry to get to Clarke.   
  
  
Clarke, whose screams are tearing through their skulls as they fight. Clarke, who is strapped to a large machine that surrounds her on all sides, the static of electricity sizzling in the air. Clarke, whose eyes are terrified and skin is drenched in sweat and body is trembling because it looks like the machine is sucking the power out of her and increasing it tenfold to release into the air as some kind of warped raw energy. Clarke, who doesn’t look like she is going to survive whatever is happening to her.   
  
  
As Harper flies Octavia through the air, the dark-haired girl throws bullets out of the way and sends two guards flying into the wall, knocking them out. When the man Harper assumes is the leader lifts his own gun, Bellamy knocks it out of his grip with blasts of ice. As the others take care of the remaining guards, Octavia jumps out of Harper’s grip and leaps towards the man, feet first. She kicks him to the ground.   
  
  
Bellamy freezes the man’s hands and legs to the ground as Octavia crouches beside him. Just then, Clarke goes silent. She collapses to her knees, eyes rolling back, but her hands seem to be shackled to the front of the machine, which is still dragging energy out of her through her exposed palms.  
  
  
Bellamy turns towards Clarke but Octavia stops him from moving any further, “Kane says don’t touch the machine without knowing what it does.”  
  
  
“The machine is killing her!” Bellamy says, taking a step towards the girl whose body continues to spasm as the machine steals her life force.   
  
  
“A small price to pay for mankind,” the man on the ground says, lips pulled into a malicious smile that chills Bellamy to the bone.   
  
  
“What are you talking about?” Bellamy snaps. “What is it doing to her?”  
  
  
“Why don’t you get close enough to find out?”   
  
  
Bellamy moves forward but Monty grabs him by the arm. “He’s baiting you, Bellamy.”  
  
  
“I can’t switch it off,” Raven calls from the computer on the other side of the machine.  
  
  
“What does the machine do?” Bellamy yells, grabbing the man by the jaw. The man simply smiles wider. “Tell us how to turn it off!”  
  
  
“I am saving the world,” he says.  
  
  
“If you don’t tell us then I’ll find out myself,” Octavia says before throwing off the metal helmet he’s wearing. She grabs the man’s head, palms pressing down on his temples. Eyes shut, she dives into his memory and his thoughts. Bellamy doesn’t know who to worry for more, Clarke or his sister. _He can’t lose them_.   
  
  
And then he hears Kane in his head.  
  
  
 **What is Octavia doing? She is risking her powers!**  
  
  
 _Professor? I don’t know! I don’t… I don’t know!_  
  
  
But Octavia releases the man before Kane can reply. She stares up at the rest of them, eyes blown wide in horror. “The machine’s going to wipe out mutant abilities. He’s using Clarke to power the surge.”  
  
  
“How is that _possible_?” Raven asks as they all turn their eyes to the machine. “How do we stop it?”  
  
  
“No time to explain. There’s a kill switch at the back,” Octavia says. “But it’s on the side out of which the energy is surging. If any of us try to reach the switch, we’ll lose our powers. Forever.”  
  
  
“I don’t fucking care,” Bellamy growls, already moving. Octavia grabs his wrist.   
  
  
“Bellamy, you _can’t_ , she’d never forgive herself,” Octavia says.   
  
  
“At least she’ll be alive,” Bellamy says, pulling his wrist free.   
  
  
“Stop!” They turn to the door and Bellamy staggers on his feet and blinks, wondering whether he is imagining things.   
  
  
“I’ll do it,” Abby Griffin says, running forward. “I don’t have powers to take.” Bellamy stares in stunned silence, much like the rest of them, but Raven and Octavia fly back into action.  
  
  
“Where’s the switch?” Raven asks Octavia.  
  
  
“On the floor underneath the base of the machine just behind where Clarke is. It’s a lever.” Abby, dressed in a black pantsuit and looking like she’s just come out of a meeting, runs forward and drops to her hands and knees behind the machine. The energy pushes against her and washes over her but it doesn’t seem to hurt her in any way. Bellamy watches as she reaches underneath the metal and searches and searches and searches- _why can’t she find it already?!_  
  
  
And then the machine powers down.   
  
  
“The surge is gone,” they turn to the doorway to see Kane standing there, fingers against his temples. “It’s safe. You can go to her.”  
  
  
Bellamy moves the fastest, wishing still that he could go faster. He freezes the intricate metal cuffs that have her wrists trapped and palms pressed flush against a flat silver surface of the machine. He punches through the ice and shatters it with a strength he didn’t know he possessed.   
  
  
Her body slides to the floor and he catches her and pulls her into his lap.   
  
  
“Professor, there’s another mutant in the building. A child, no older than ten,” he can hear Octavia say. “She’s trapped in a room.” Kane calls Indra’s name, who he didn’t notice was with them and a few of them run out of the room. Murphy, Lincoln and Jasper stand guard at the doors, in case they have any unwanted visitors. Monty, Octavia, Raven and Abby run over to where Bellamy is sitting with Clarke in his arms.  
  
  
“Is she breathing?” Abby asks, reaching out to touch her daughter’s wrist. Raven grabs her arm before she makes contact.  
  
  
“You touch her and you’ll pass out,” Raven says.   
  
  
“Something’s not right,” Octavia whispers. “I can’t… I can’t access her mind.”   
  
  
“What?” Bellamy asks. “What does that mean?” Octavia reaches out slowly. “ _Octavia!_ ” Her bare fingers hesitate over Clarke’s cheek for a moment before making contact. Bellamy sucks in a breath. Nothing happens.   
  
  
“Why isn’t she draining you?” Raven asks. She reaches out to touch the exposed skin of Clarke’s forearm. Nothing.   
  
  
“Check her pulse,” Bellamy tells Abby, his heart beating wildly.   
  
  
“I- I can’t feel anything,” Abby whispers, tears springing to her eyes. Bellamy clutches Clarke closer. “Wait!” Their attention snaps to the older lady. “It’s there. It’s there. It’s faint, very faint, but it’s there.”   
  
  
“We need to get her to medical,” Monty says. “I can try to portal her to the mansion. I- I don’t know if I can reach such a distance but we can try.”  
  
  
“You put her through a portal and she’ll be dead in seconds,” Raven says. “Going through a portal takes energy. Energy that Clarke can’t spare.”   
  
  
“So what do we do?” Bellamy asks, his voice edging hysterical. “We can’t lose her! We can’t lose Clarke!”  
  
  
“She can take people’s life forces right?” Abby speaks up. “What if we gave it to her?” She reaches out to touch Clarke’s face but Bellamy catches her hand.   
  
  
“If she starts draining you, you’ll likely fall into a coma, or worse. It has to be someone with a stronger life force. It has to be a mutant. ”  
  
  
“I don’t mind giving my life for my daughter.”  
  
  
“ _Now_ you want to be there for Clarke?” Octavia snaps, teeth grinding together.  
  
  
“I made a mistake,” Abby whispers, tears slipping down her cheeks.  
  
  
“You _abandoned_ her! You treated your own daughter like she was _nothing_ ,” Octavia cries, her own eyes welling up. Raven places a hand on her arm. “You left her when she needed you the most.”  
  
  
“If I could turn back time…”  
  
  
“You can’t!” Octavia snaps. “You can’t and now Clarke might die and it’s all because of people like you. People who can’t look past your hatred for mutantkind to see that we’re just… we’re just _people_. We’re just _children._ Children who needed their parents.”   
  
  
“Octavia, not now,” Raven says softly.   
  
  
Bellamy has tuned the others out. He cares solely about one thing. He pulls Clarke upwards and presses his forehead against hers.  
  
  
“ _Please,_ Clarke,” he whispers. “Please, let me in.” He pulls back to stroke her cheek with his thumb, wishing, _wishing_ that the only time he is able to touch her skin was not because she’s on the brink of death.  
  
  
He presses his lips against her forehead, lingers there while whispering to her. “Please come back to us. Please, Clarke. We can’t do this without you. _I_ can’t do this without you... Clarke, _please_.”   
  
  
“Her pulse is weakening,” Abby says, pushing her face into her hands.   
  
  
“Her mind is blank, Bellamy,” Octavia says, tears rolling down her cheeks. “It means that there’s nothing telling her heart to beat any longer.”   
  
  
“ _I’m_ telling her heart to beat,” Bellamy grinds out, his eyes filling.  
  
  
“Bell…”   
  
  
“No,” Bellamy says, angry now. He shrugs away Octavia’s hand on his arm and presses his palm flush against the side of Clarke’s face. “I’m not losing her. I’m not losing you, Clarke. Come _on_.” He presses a kiss against her cheekbone and then her forehead and then her temple. “Clarke, _Clarke,_ I need you. We all need you. Now come back! Come back to us!”   
  
  
Monty is sobbing into Raven’s shoulder and Raven stares brokenly at the girl they’ve all grown to love more than anything else in the world. Octavia laces her fingers through Clarke’s and squeezes tight, willing her to just _wake up_.  
  
  
“I… I can’t feel a pulse anymore,” Abby weeps.  
  
  
Bellamy shakes his head and presses his fingers tighter into the grip he has on her face.   
  
  
“Bellamy... ,” Octavia whispers, reaching out to her brother. “She’s gone…”  
  
  
“No, she’s not!” Bellamy cries and Octavia’s heart breaks for her brother, breaks for Clarke, breaks for them all. “Wake up, Clarke, come on!”  
  
  
“She can’t be gone,” Monty says.   
  
  
“Raven,” Bellamy says suddenly, “you need to restart her heart.”  
  
  
“What?”  
  
  
“You need to kickstart her heart with your tremors,” he says to her, dead serious.   
  
  
“Bellamy, are you crazy? I don’t have that kind of control- I could destroy her heart,” Raven says. “No way.”  
  
  
“If you don’t try, she dies anyway,” he replies, tears slipping down his cheeks. “You have to do this.”  
  
  
“Bellamy…”  
  
  
“He’s right,” Monty says. “Just a slight tremor- just something to get her heart beating again.”   
  
  
Raven stares at the girl in Bellamy’s arms, stares at her closed eyes and her pale skin and her limp body. Wills her to just _wake up_ , knowing that she won’t. She would soon be dead, if she wasn’t already. Why not just try what crazy idea Bellamy and Monty were proposing?  
  
  
“Okay,” Raven says, her voice wary. They turn to her and Bellamy dares to hope. “Hold her still,” she says to him. “Octavia, stay in her head, okay? Tell me if she comes back.” Octavia nods. Raven scrambles over to Clarke and Bellamy angles her towards Raven. She reaches out with trembling fingers until her hands are hovering above Clarke’s heart. She takes a deep breath in and when she releases it, her eyes are focused and her hands are steady. Bellamy watches with bated breath as Raven releases very light seismic vibrations from her palms and into Clarke’s chest. He’s never seen control like this, never seen Raven create something so small and slight from her ferocious abilities.   
  
  
Abby gasps, “It’s working. I feel a pulse.” Raven pulls away, afraid of doing any damage with more vibrations.   
  
  
“Clarke, I’m not letting you die- _we’re_ not letting you die,” Bellamy says, pressing his forehead against hers once more. “You’re a fighter. Now get _up_ and _fight!_ ”  
  
  
“Fight, Clarke,” Octavia says, her voice stronger now.   
  
  
“Come on, Clarke,” Monty says as they scramble closer to her, surrounding her tightly on all sides. He reaches out and closes his hand around the exposed skin of her arm. Octavia’s fingers are still tight around Clarke’s. Raven nudges Abby’s hand away from Clarke’s other wrist and laces her fingers though Clarke’s.   
  
  
“Come back to us,” Bellamy mumbles, lips against Clarke’s hairline. He pulls her close, one hand cradling the back of her head and the other holding her face, fingers against her cheek.   
  
  
And then suddenly, _suddenly_ he feels the energy being sucked out of his body, his lungs losing oxygen, his brain flatlining. But he doesn’t let go, and one look at his friends tells him that they don’t either. He feels his consciousness fading, sees Octavia’s eyes flutter shut, sees Monty slump to the floor, sees Raven’s breathing grow erratic. Bellamy’s vision goes black.   
  
  
Clarke’s eyes snap open and she awakens with a gasp.   
  
  
+++   
  
  
  
Bellamy’s eyelids feel glued shut when he first wakes up and no number of commands from his brain seem enough to open his eyes. His limbs are no better and they remain motionless, not even the twitch of a finger. He falls back asleep.   
  
  
The second time he wakes up, he has better luck with his eyelids and a few attempts in, they finally drag open. His arms and legs feel even more resistant to movement than they did when he woke up welded to the wall of a metal room.   
  
  
“Bell?” Octavia. She appears above him, looking and sounding a level of energetic he can’t fathom at the moment. All he manages is a groan in response. “Just try to breathe deeply. Your muscles are still recovering from the loss of oxygen and energy.” So this is what it felt like to wake up after Clarke had absorbed your life force. Bellamy can’t believe that he once, many many months ago, thought she was the weakest amongst them.   
  
  
He does as Octavia suggests, inhales and exhales deeply, forcing oxygen into his body. In, out. In, out.   
  
  
His fingers start regaining their ability to move, then his toes, then his wrists and ankles, and soon his body is functioning closer to normal.   
  
  
“How’s Clarke?” Bellamy asks hoarsely. Octavia helps him sit up and he takes in the dark medical wing around him. She hands him a glass of water from the bedside and he drinks gratefully, feeling much better as soon as the water slides down his throat.   
  
  
“She’s okay,” Octavia says, glancing to her right. Bellamy follows her eyeline to the bed beside his. Clarke lies motionless except for the steady rise and fall of her chest. Bellamy exhales a sigh of relief. “Apparently she blacked out almost instantly after regaining consciousness but Callie said she’s going to make a very full and very good recovery soon.”   
  
  
“And everyone else?” He asks, unable to tear his eyes away from the girl they had saved from death.   
  
  
“Everyone’s fine. You took most of the brunt of Clarke’s absorption, so everyone else woke up a long time ago.”  
  
  
“How long’s it been?”   
  
  
“Nine hours. It’s 4am.”  
  
  
“Fuck,” Bellamy says. “Have you been waiting here the whole time?”   
  
  
“Maybe,” Octavia answers, smiling wearily. “Yesterday was a lot.”   
  
  
He breathes out a laugh. “Understatement of the century. I don’t even understand what happened… Who were those people? Who was that man? Why Clarke?”   
  
  
“His name is Cage Wallace,” Octavia says. “He’s an army general with the idea that mutant extinction is the only way for mankind to achieve peace.” She sighs heavily, running a hand through her hair. “He almost achieved that.”  
  
  
“Using that machine and Clarke?”  
  
  
Octavia nods. “I saw his memories, Bellamy… I- I never… I never fully realised how much hatred people have for mutants until I was in his head.” She swallows hard. “Like I knew it, right? We all, to some extent, know what it’s like out there. It’s why we were on the run before Kane found us. But… Bellamy, it’s something else- _being_ in their heads, knowing the full extent of their hatred.”   
  
  
“He didn’t win,” Bellamy says, grasping his sister’s hand.  
  
  
“He didn’t,” Octavia says, squeezing his fingers tightly. “But the next one might.” A tear falls down her cheek and she wipes it away. They fall silent.  
  
  
“It won’t always be like this,” Bellamy says quietly after a full two minutes. “Change will come. I don’t know how or when, but it will. But what matters right now is that we’re safe here.”   
  
  
“There are so many mutants still out there, in danger,” Octavia replies. “Ones who aren’t as lucky as we were.”  
  
  
Bellamy nods. “We can talk to Kane- we’ll figure something out. I’m sure he’s already trying to find as many of them as possible. We’ll work harder, form a bigger team. We’ll figure something out for them, okay?” Octavia holds her brother’s hand tighter, grateful for him and grateful for their family.   
  
  
“Get some more sleep,” Octavia finally says. “Your body is still recovering. We’ll talk more in the morning. Kane said he would explain to you what happened yesterday- he said he can show you Cage’s memories himself. He doesn’t want me to exert my mind right now.”  
  
  
“How are you?” Bellamy asks suddenly, feeling guilty that he hadn’t asked her earlier.  
  
  
“I’m okay,” she answers and he looks unconvinced. “Honest, I’m okay. Kane checked my mind out- everything is stable. Apparently I managed to bring out the power I needed from its confines in my mind, and then when I finished- it returned to its cage. He said it took great skill to pull that off.”  
  
  
“How _did_ you pull that off?” Bellamy asks, throat feeling tight with pride.   
  
  
“It’s like you said, Bell, your powers know when you need them. I just took the advice you gave Murphy- to focus on your powers and trust that they will be there for you,” Octavia answers. “Doesn’t mean I’m going to attempt any of that again any time soon,” she cracks a smile which he returns. “But it was good being in control. It makes me feel less like I need to be afraid of myself.”  
  
  
“I’m really proud of you, O,” he says. “You really came through yesterday.”  
  
  
“We all did,” Octavia replies, smiling more fully. “Now get some sleep. We’ll talk more in the morning.” He nods and she kisses his forehead before moving to the bed on his other side. “Oh and Bell?” He turns his head towards her. “Happy new year.”  
  
  
“Happy new year, O.”  
  
  
+++   
  
  
Bellamy wakes up six hours later to quiet voices to his right. He blinks through the sunlight now streaming in through the large medbay windows and rolls his head to the side. Kane is seated in a chair beside his bed, while Octavia, Jasper and Raven sit on the bed Octavia had occupied the night before.   
  
  
“Happy new year, Bellamy,” his eyes snap to Raven, who’s grinning at him.   
  
  
A glass of water appears above him and he sits up against the headboard and accepts it graciously from Callie. After his throat is no longer dry as dust, he smiles at everyone in turn. “Happy new year.”   
  
  
“How do you feel?” Octavia asks.  
  
  
“Better,” Bellamy replies, experimentally rolling his ankles and wrists to find that they are far more compliant than they were a few hours ago. “Much better.”   
  
  
“Clarke is still out cold,” Jasper says, “but she should be waking up sometime soon.”  
  
  
“Her vitals are all thankfully very strong once more,” Callie says, smiling at the girl still asleep in the bed beside Bellamy’s. He turns to her form and sighs in relief.   
  
  
“You saved her life.”   
  
  
“We all did,” Bellamy responds to Kane. “Especially Raven.”  
  
  
“I wouldn’t have done it without your idea,” Raven says. “You brought her back from the dead.”  
  
  
“I would never have let her die,” Bellamy whispers, turning back to look at Clarke once more.   
  
  
“I’m sure you have many questions,” Kane says after a few moments, bringing his attention back to the group on his right. “I figured it would be best if I just showed you the answers.” Bellamy nods and in seconds, he can see memories in his mind that aren’t his own. He closes his eyes and lets them play behind his closed eyelids. He suddenly sees the world through Cage Wallace’s eyes. Cage’s cruel, unforgiving eyes.  
  
  
 _Clarke is dragged towards him, arms cuffed behind her back. Her eyes are dry but he can see the fear clear as day within them. She is trying to be strong in the face of the unknown._  
  
  
 _“Clarke Griffin,” Cage says._ Bellamy cannot see it, but he can feel the smile on Cage’s face. _“Welcome. Today, you and I are going to save the world.”_  
  
  
 _“What do you want from me?” Clarke spits._  
  
  
 _“I heard you have a very peculiar super power. You can absorb other people’s life forces. Is that true?” Clarke remains silent, teeth grit together. “Forgive me for intruding in your personal affairs,” he doesn’t sound sorry at all, “I heard chatter amongst some at a party recently- I hear that you put your dear friend in a coma by touching her. Once I got over the monstrous situation, I decided you could be of use to eradicate the very thing that hurt your friend.”_  
  
  
 _“What are you talking about? And who the fuck_ are _you?” Clarke asks. “And where are my friends? What did you do to them?”_  
  
  
 _“I am someone who will save this world of the biggest danger it faces. Mutantkind.” Clarke’s fiery composure cracks and her breath halts. “And you will help me.”_  
  
  
 _“Go fuck yourself,” Clarke says. “I would never help you.”_  
  
  
 _“I’m afraid you have no choice.”_  
  
  
The memory changes and Bellamy finds himself in a completely empty room with blank white walls.   
  
  
_A little girl_ (Madi, Bellamy realises with a jolt to his heart) _is strapped to a hospital bed which is more metal than cushioning. Her hands and legs are strapped down and a metal band crosses her neck and seals her to the bed. Not that she would move, as she was unconscious. There are tubes attached to her pulse points, a clear liquid flowing into her body._  
  
  
 _“What have you done to her?” Cage turns from Madi to Clarke, who is standing beside him, hands still locked behind her back. A guard stands behind her, rifle trained on the back of her head._  
  
  
 _“We have sedated her.”_  
  
  
 _“You’re doing more than that,” Clarke breathes, voice trembling with fear._  
  
  
 _“Madi has a very special superpower. She can switch off all mutant abilities in her near vicinity,” Cage says._ At this, Bellamy slowly begins piecing together what was about to happen, why they needed Madi and Clarke and their particular abilities. _“We needed first to switch_ her _powers off in order to proceed with our plan.”_  
  
  
 _“You’ve… you’ve switched_ off _her powers?” Clarke asks disbelievingly. “That’s impossible.”_  
  
  
 _Cage ignores her. He turns to the guard behind Clarke and nods sharply. The guard fires his gun and a tranquiliser dart lodges into Clarke’s neck._ Bellamy wants to leap forward and push her aside but he is forced to remain stationary, trapped in the body of the mind he was viewing the past through.   
  
  
_Clarke drops and two guards swoop in. One holds her upright and the other unlocks her handcuffs. Cage steps forward and grabs her wrist and carefully removes her glove. He then reaches out with her hand and presses her fingers against Madi’s cheek. Madi’s skin instantly begins paling and the vessels in her face grow more and more pronounced as her body starts to seize. The heart monitor beside Madi’s bed begins beeping violently and Cage allows three more seconds before removing Clarke’s hand._  
  
  
The memory changes and Bellamy feels like he can take it no more, but he needs to know what happened, needs to be able to understand so that he can be there for Clarke when she wakes up. The next memory finds him on the top floor of the facility, the one they found Clarke and Cage and his army in.   
  
  
_Clarke is awake now, but fighting desperately against the guards holding her. Cage instructs them to strap her palms down on the front of the machine, against a flat metal surface. They carefully maneuver her to the board and lock her wrists into place with a contraption that forces her palms against the metal. They release her and she struggles hard, trying to break free, but she is trapped._  
  
  
 _“What are you doing to me?” she asks Cage._  
  
  
 _“Now that you have Madi’s ability to switch off mutant powers in your vicinity, this machine will amplify that ability a hundred times over and change it into something more… permanent. Once the machine has done that, it will convert this power into energy and release it into the atmosphere. Slowly, one city at a time, the energy will switch off the abilities of any mutant it comes in contact with, and eradicate their abilities forever. They will be humans, just like the rest of us, just like it was meant to be.”_  
  
  
 _“That’s psychotic. You can’t do this,” Clarke whispers, eyes finally welling up with tears as she registers the horror of Cage’s plan. “You can’t do this! Please! We’re humans too. Our abilities aren’t a threat, we don’t want to harm you with them. Please don’t do this to us.”_  
  
  
 _“It has to be done,” Cage says. “It’s the only way that humankind will thrive. Madi was too young to operate the machine- it would have killed her in an instant, not enough time for the machine to release the energy. You, however, will power the machine long for long enough to do what needs to be done.”_  
  
  
 _“Don’t do this,_ please _,” Clarke begs, tears falling down her cheeks. “We aren’t a threat to you. We can live in harmony, we can be at peace. You can’t do this.”_  
  
  
 _“I don’t believe you will survive this,” Cage says, moving towards the computer display on one side of the machine. “So I’ll thank you now. You can die knowing that you will be saving us all.”_  
  
  
 _Clarke continues to beg and plead, tears falling fast onto her trapped hands._ Bellamy wishes he could stop Cage but all he can do is watch as Cage powers the machine on. _Clarke begins to fight against her restraints as the machine begins to come to life. Her screams and cries fall on deaf ears as Cage steps back and watches her._  
  
  
Bellamy can feel the calm in Cage’s body as Cage’s plans come to fruition. And he understands how Octavia had felt, diving through Cage’s mind and seeing his memories, hearing his thoughts, feeling the hatred he has for mutantkind coursing through his blood.   
  
  
Bellamy can take it no longer, cannot stand the feeling of watching Clarke suffer and die as he watches from the sidelines and can do absolutely nothing. He knows they are only memories, he knows that she is going to be okay, he knows that they won this battle. He knows this, but he simply cannot take it any longer.   
  
  
And Kane realises this too and slowly withdraws Cage’s memories out from behind Bellamy’s eyelids.   
  
  
When Kane leaves his mind, Bellamy gasps back to reality. He takes a moment to breathe deeply before turning to his friends and mentor.   
  
  
“Where’s Madi right now?” is his first question.  
  
  
“With Harper,” Jasper answers.   
  
  
“Not with a professor?”   
  
  
“She was hesitant with adults,” Kane says. “She’s quite guarded right now, which is fair enough considering the ordeal she went through. But Harper got through to her best so she’s sleeping in her room for now.”   
  
  
Bellamy nods. “I can’t imagine what she went through. They managed to switch off her powers, that’s… that’s barbaric.”   
  
  
“Yes,” Kane says. “Cage Wallace is a monster, and I am glad he was stopped before he could do any more damage to the mutant community.”   
  
  
“Where’s he now?”   
  
  
“Police custody,” Kane explains. “Abby called in some favours and he’s being held in Ark’s top security prison until his trial, with no hope of bail.”  
  
  
“How _did_ Clarke’s mother fit into all this?”  
  
  
“When the armed group boarded the train, Octavia reached out to me telepathically,” Kane says, eyes meeting his sister’s. “But when I lost contact, I knew something bad must have happened. Next thing I know, Diyoza’s calling me to look at the news. Someone on the train had managed to get a video of the men and… also of Bellamy transforming.” Bellamy sighs heavily, knowing it was inevitable. “It was playing on every channel.”  
  
  
“Could they ID Bell?” Octavia asks worriedly.  
  
  
“No, nobody seems to have a name, which is good,” Kane says. “When I saw the videos, we tried contacting the police and the local authorities, but nobody was willing to give us any information, if they even had any. So I did the only thing I could- I called Abby. She had already seen the news and had already started finding out what she could. The Mayor’s office had no idea what to do because it obviously involved mutants, and when they realised that the leader of the armed group was a Mount Weather army general, everything came to a standstill.”  
  
  
“Because they couldn’t expose to the public that an army general was acting like a terrorist?” Raven asks.  
  
  
“Exactly.”  
  
  
“So they did nothing?” Octavia splutters.   
  
  
“It was… complicated. Jaha didn’t know what to do because of the peace relations between Ark and Mount Weather but Abby didn’t hesitate. She gave me the information and told me we had to find their base.”   
  
  
“How did you find the base?” Jasper asks.  
  
  
“Abby was already on her way to us while she was coordinating all this information with Jaha. By the time she got here, she had pulled enough favours to find out a list of possible locations for Wallace’s operations. We got onto the jet and started hitting the different places. We were on the third when Octavia’s telepathy returned. I linked up with Cerebro and finally located you all. I wish you hadn’t taken the fight to Wallace without backup, but at the same time I’m glad that you did because if you hadn’t…”  
  
  
“Mutantkind all through the country would have ceased to exist,” Octavia whispers.   
  
  
“Yes. And perhaps beyond the country too,” Kane says softly. “But you saved us all.” He looks between his students, tears in his eyes. “I don’t know what I did to deserve children like you… I find myself constantly in awe and indebted to you all. Mutantkind is in debt to you all.”  
  
  
“Nonsense, Professor,” Octavia shakes her head, swiping at her eyes. “We did what we had to to save the people we love. And this isn’t the end.” She meets her brother’s eyes. “There are so many mutants out there who need our help, mutants like Madi who are being taken and exploited and hurt. Our work doesn’t end here, it’s just beginning.”  
  
  
Bellamy sees pride shine in Kane’s eyes as he nods. “I plan on bringing together a team who will work to protect the mutants in need out there. I would be honoured if you all chose to join.”  
  
  
“The honour would be ours, Professor,” Raven says with feeling. Kane nods. She turns to Bellamy, “You in too?”  
  
  
“There’s no question about it,” Bellamy responds.   
  
  
“What’s going to happen to Cage?” Jasper asks.   
  
  
“Maybe- maybe I could answer that,” they turn towards the doorway through which Abby Griffin walks. Bellamy notices Octavia’s jaw tighten, her eyes harden. Looking back at Clarke’s mother, he never thought he would ever see the cold woman look anything but stoic, yet the way she was walking towards them screamed of a vulnerability that made Bellamy want to avert his eyes.   
  
  
“There will be a full scale investigation into Wallace’s activities, including interviews with all of you and if they’re comfortable, with Clarke and Madi.”  
  
  
“Clarke will definitely testify against the bastard,” Octavia snaps.  
  
  
“Yes, I’m sure she will,” Abby says, not meeting Octavia’s eyes. “But Madi is much younger, and she is probably terrified. Thelonius will oversee the entire investigation-”  
  
  
“No way that he’s going to be on our side on this one,” Bellamy says. “He’s never taken the side of mutantkind in the past, I don’t see why this would be any different.”  
  
  
“There’s been some… pressure,” Abby says. “From different human rights activists, especially after the video of Wallace’s team shooting all of you on the train went viral.”   
  
  
“What do you think will be the outcome?” Kane asks.  
  
  
Abby hesitates, “I’m not sure. Wells called me to say he’s been putting a lot of pressure on his father too, and that Thelonius seems to be generally in agreement of the fact that this was a giant human rights violation.”  
  
  
“And you?” Octavia asks. “What do you think?”  
  
  
“I will do everything in my power to make sure Cage Wallace and his men never see the light of day ever again,” Abby says. “For once, I will be glad that I quit the medical field to join politics. My position of power might be beneficial.”  
  
  
“Too bad you never used it before,” Octavia says and Bellamy glances worriedly at his sister. “Kinda pathetic that it took your daughter almost dying for you to realise that mutants are humans too, huh?”   
  
  
“I know my beliefs were wrong,” Abby says quietly. “I will do everything I can to make up for the pain I have caused.”  
  
  
“Sure, you will,” Octavia replies, her tone sarcastic. “But it might take you your entire goddamn life to make up for abandoning your own daughter and deciding that a whole demographic of people weren’t worth your care nor attention.”   
  
  
“Octavia…” Bellamy says softly, feeling the hurt his sister was feeling. But perhaps this wasn’t the best time. He meets Raven’s eyes and she nods before taking his sister’s hand.   
  
  
“Let’s get something to eat, okay?” Octavia nods curtly before they rise from the bed together.   
  
  
“Mom?” All their attention snaps to the figure that had been unconscious for the past sixteen hours. Kane looks between Bellamy and Abby before deciding that they were the only ones who needed to stay just then. He stands and gestures to Jasper to leave the medbay with him. Octavia moves to Bellamy’s side quickly before pushing some fabric into Bellamy’s hands.  
  
  
“Gloves, in case you want to touch her,” she says quietly and Bellamy presses a kiss into his sister’s hair for her thoughtfulness. The four leave the medbay and Bellamy doesn’t wait for Abby to go to Clarke first. He rushes to Clarke’s side and her eyes instantly shift from her mother to him.  
  
  
“Hey,” she whispers, fingers reaching for him before stopping when she realises she has no gloves on. He meets her halfway, his own gloved fingers wrapping around hers. “I thought you hate wearing gloves.”  
  
  
“I do,” Bellamy says, smiling softly at Clarke. “But I’d do anything for you.”   
  
  
Tears well up in her eyes and slip down her face and he reaches out with his other gloved hand to wipe them from her cheeks.   
  
  
“I’m sorry,” she croaks, sniffing. Neither notice Abby slipping out of the room. “I’m sorry that we fought. I’m sorry I didn’t want to give you a chance.”  
  
  
“It doesn’t matter,” Bellamy shakes his head.  
  
  
“Yes, it does,” Clarke says, squeezing his fingers tightly. “I was never worried about your ability to love me. I was worried about my own ability to be loved. I never meant to hurt you.”   
  
  
Bellamy nods, thumb stroking Clarke’s cheek. “Clarke,” he says seriously, “if you aren’t ready for… for this, that’s okay. You know that, right? I don’t want you to push your own emotions if that’s not where you are. I’m going to be here for you regardless- if you want that to be as friends, then so be it. I’m not going anywhere. You’re too important to me. And if you want me to wait, I’ll do that too. For you I’d wait my whole life.”   
  
  
“No,” Clarke shakes her head quickly, and Bellamy forces his heart not to sink, to wait for her next words. “When Cage’s men took you away with the others, all I could think about was how I wish I had never pushed you away. All I could think was that I never told you how I really felt. I just wanted to turn back time and tell you that I want to be with you, that I want to try. And then Cage strapped me into that machine and I knew I was going to die and all I could think was that I wanted a life with you and I never told you. And that I was going to die without you ever knowing.”  
  
  
“The truth is I don’t know what kind of love I have to give anymore,” Clarke says, tears falling hot and fast. “And I don’t know the way in which I _can_ be loved. But what I do know is that I want to find out… with you. If you’ll have me.”  
  
  
Bellamy expels a soft breath, allowing the tension to leave his body in the form of a breathless chuckle. “I would really like that, Clarke... We’re going to figure it out. Together.”  
  
  
“Together,” she repeats, smiling through her tears. “I also… I also realise that you saved my life. I don’t know the details, and perhaps when I’m feeling better you can tell me. All I remember is waking up to somebody else’s life force and when I opened my eyes, all I saw was you. You saved me, didn’t you?”  
  
  
“We all did,” Bellamy says. “I wasn’t going to let you die, no matter the cost.”  
  
  
“Luckily there was no cost to pay,” Clarke says, fingers squeezing his. And then she remembers, glances behind him but sees no one. “Was my mom here?” she asks confusedly.   
  
  
Bellamy bobs his head. “Yeah. She helped us save you by shutting down the machine- we all kept our powers because of it.”   
  
  
“How did she get there?” Clarke asks, eyebrows furrowed deeply.   
  
  
“Honestly, it’s a long story,” Bellamy grins wearily. “We’ll catch you up once you’re feeling better.”  
  
  
“What about Madi?” Clarke asks suddenly. “She was this girl that-”  
  
  
“We know,” Bellamy assures her gently. “She’s with Harper, resting. We’re going to take care of her. She’s going to be fine. We all are.” Clarke nods, smiling in relief. “Do you want to rest some more?”  
  
  
“I actually want to get up and walk a bit, though I’m not sure my limbs will comply,” Clarke admits. “And I also really want to see everyone. It’s New Years, isn’t it?” Bellamy nods. “Will you help me get to the others?”  
  
  
“I’m right here by your side,” he promises. Callie checks on Clarke once before discharging her on the condition that she keeps Bellamy close. Clarke assures her that that won’t be a problem at all. She finds that her limbs are exhausted, muscles not strong enough to hold her weight, but Bellamy’s beside her the whole time, holding her up steadily.  
  
  
Together they leave, with Clarke’s arm around Bellamy’s, and he realises in that moment just how much he is looking forward to their future.  
  
  
+++

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the main story is complete! Next chapter will be an epilogue of sorts- with snippets from the years that follow. But it will still be a long chapter, with lots going on, and lots of developments and excitement and LOTS OF FEELS!! Perhaps even more feels than the first chapters?! Who knows!! I hope you liked this one though- please let me know your thoughts in the comments! I really enjoyed exploring more of some of their powers and capabilities like Murphy, Raven, Octavia and Harper (thus the chapter title). I loved working Madi into the story finally, and you'll get to see more of her next chapter. I am looking forward to also writing Abby's character in the epilogue- and she will have more interactions with Octaiva (some pretty intense ones too) because there's a lot going on there that isn't fully explored yet. So I promise there will be more of that, and I think you will like it!  
> AND ALSO please please write in and let me know what kind of things you might want to see in the final chapter- certain aspects of relationships, or friendships, or themes, or incidents, or characters (new and old)? Anything that you feel you long for a little more- I will try to work it in <3 The final chapter will be called "Family". 
> 
> Thank you for reading and being part of this writing journey with me!  
> Stay safe and be kind to yourselves xx  
> See you in the comments ;)


	6. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone!! Welcome to the final chapter of Gifted! Thank you for being patient with me as I took a little longer than I expected to write this chapter. There's a LOT in it, more than I thought I would actually write- but I just couldn't stop, and I wanted to end this story fully and completely, with every single strand wrapped up. I hope you enjoy it! See you at the end notes for more comments xx  
> PS: the bits in this story jump between different times in their future. Hope its not too confusing!

“I never thought I’d ever be a bridesmaid.”  
  
  
Bellamy glances up from where he’s ironing his suit jacket to look at his sister. She’s staring at her own reflection, turning left and right to study her profile. She’s dressed in a stunning baby blue dress that a few years ago neither of them thought she would ever own. Bellamy looks down at his own suit and knows the same applies for his outfit of the day.   
  
  
“Are you nervous?” He asks Octavia, switching off the iron and making sure his white shirt was neatly tucked in.   
  
  
“No,” Octavia laughs, tearing herself away from the mirror to go and lean against Bellamy’s work desk. “Are you?”  
  
  
“No,” he grins at her. “How’s Clarke feeling?”  
  
  
“A ball of nerves,” Octavia smiles softly. “I’ll go check on her in a second.” She walks up to Bellamy and straightens his bowtie before adjusting the white flowers arranged in his lapel. “It’s going to be beautiful,” she says softly, wistfully. “I never thought that we’d ever…” She chokes up, tears springing to her eyes.   
  
  
“I know,” Bellamy says, squeezing her hand. “Who knew we were meant for beautiful things?”   
  
  
“We’ve come really far, haven’t we?” Octavia asks, smiling through her tears.   
  
  
“And so much further to explore,” Bellamy pulls her into his arms, carefully not to ruin either of their attires or hair.   
  
  
“Knock knock.” They look up to see a familiar grinning face at the door.  
  
  
“Wells!” Octavia rushes forward and hugs Wells tightly. Wells rubs her back when he hears her sniffle into his shoulder.   
  
  
“You okay?” He asks softly, glancing at Bellamy worriedly. The older boy nods reassuringly.   
  
  
“Just really happy,” Octavia says, pulling out of the embrace. “It’s good to see you.”  
  
  
“You too,” Wells says, pressing a kiss into Octavia’s hair. He looks at Bellamy, “you ready?”  
  
  
Bellamy nods. “How’s Clarke?”  
  
  
“She’s ready too,” Wells grins. “I can’t believe this is happening.”  
  
  
“Is your father here?” Octavia asks.  
  
  
“Yes,” Wells replies. “I swear to god I never thought I’d ever see my father seated comfortably amongst some fifty other mutants.”  
  
  
The siblings exchange smiles and Octavia squeezes Wells’ arm. “The world is changing.”  
  
  
“The world is changing,” Wells nods. “But for today, it can wait. We have a wedding to attend.”  
  
  
+++  
  
  
Four and a half years before the wedding and four weeks after Cage Wallace was arrested after he kidnapped nine mutants and tortured two of them, Marcus Kane was asked to attend a meeting with Thelonius Jaha and two of his most trusted senators, including Abigail Griffin. Kane decided it would be best for Jacapo Sinclair and Callie Cartwright to accompany him, for they were prominent figures in Ark’s technology and medical fields prior to joining him at the home.   
  
  
For the five hours that they are gone, their small group of friends wait anxiously in the living room to hear something.  
  
  
“I’m sure it’ll be good,” Raven says from her place on the sofa between Lincoln and Jasper. “Otherwise they wouldn’t have been gone so long.”  
  
  
“It could also mean it’s taken a turn for the worse,” Murphy says from beside the fireplace.   
  
  
“Whatever it is, it’s progress enough that Kane was asked for a meeting in the first place,” Miller comments. “No mutant has ever been asked to attend a meeting with even any local news channel, forget the Ark _Mayor_.”  
  
  
“And I don’t think Abby would have pushed Kane so hard to attend the meeting if she didn’t think it would be useful for us,” Monty says and Wells nods beside him.   
  
  
“I wasn’t privy to the details,” he says, “but I know that my father’s been really troubled since the kidnapping.”  
  
  
“It took a kidnap and torture case for him to feel troubled?” Octavia says from the sofa across from him, arms crossed defensively. Clarke leans gently into her side and Bellamy sighs softly.   
  
  
“We can’t change the past,” Bellamy says. “All we can do is hope for a better tomorrow. And if people like Jaha and Abby are finally on our side, we should accept that graciously.”  
  
  
“ _Graciously?”_ Octavia barks out, sitting up to look at her brother across Clarke.  
  
  
“Not graciously to _them_ ,” Bellamy says. “They were _never_ in the right. They were wrong for turning their backs on mutantkind for so long. We don’t need to be thankful in any way or form to them, that’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying we should feel gracious towards the universe for giving us this glimmer of hope.”  
  
  
“I don’t trust them,” Octavia says, slouching back into the sofa.   
  
  
“Neither do I,” Raven says. “And we don’t have to. And after everything we’ve all been through, we’re allowed to feel sceptical. But maybe there’s some room for a little bit of hope in there.”   
  
  
“This is a good start for us,” Clarke comments softly, reaching out to take Octavia’s hand. “Raven’s right. Being sceptical is fine, safer even- just in case it doesn’t work out. But this is a good place for us to start thinking that maybe tomorrow will treat us more fairly.”  
  
  
“As resident sceptic, honestly even _I_ feel a bit hopeful,” Murphy says and some of the others nod along. “I- I trust Abby.” Octavia barks out a hateful laugh while the others look at him in surprise. “No, seriously. I don’t forgive her for abandoning Clarke,” he looks at Clarke and she smiles softly at him, “but for the last four weeks, she’s been fighting tooth and nail for us to be treated fairly.”  
  
  
“She was key in making sure Cage Wallace got what he deserved,” Jasper chips in.   
  
  
“And when she isn’t in meetings with other senators and Jaha, she’s here talking to our students,” Lincoln says. “That’s a lot more than anybody else from the outside has ever done for us.”  
  
  
“What has she been asking students?” Octavia asks, and Bellamy isn’t surprised that his sister doesn’t know yet. Abby had been actively avoiding his sister, and he can’t blame her for it. Even though he knows she is trying her best with all of them, Octavia has refused to acknowledge her efforts. She remains cold and angry and ready to hurl her true feelings at Abby as soon as they cross paths. Bellamy can’t fault her for her feelings, but he also can’t fault Abby for staying out her way. _He’s_ angry too, about what Abby did to Clarke, but he can’t entirely ignore her efforts to make up for it.   
  
  
“Just about where they’re from, why they’re at the home, their experiences in the outside world,” Monty says. “She’s sensitive and kind about it all. Not what I was expecting honestly.”  
  
  
“Me neither,” Raven says. “I don’t like the woman but I can see that she’s trying.”  
  
  
“Is Kane back yet?” They turn to the doorway to see Harper walk through with Madi by her side.   
  
  
“Not yet,” Jasper answers, closest to the doorway. He grins and waves at Madi, who smiles shyly back at him. Her eyes sweep the room and as soon as they land on Clarke, her face lights up. Clarke waves her over and she goes quickly. Clarke pulls her onto her lap and wraps her arms around her waist, and Madi goes willingly, leaning back comfortably into Clarke’s chest.   
  
  
Bellamy shares a smile with Clarke as she cuddles closer to the young girl. A small part of Bellamy aches to reach out and brush his fingers against Clarke’s cheek because in this situation, with Madi switching off Clarke’s powers, he _can_. But he doesn’t. Because he and Clarke had discussed it and agreed (very quickly, easily and comfortably) that they would never take advantage of Madi’s powers. They wouldn’t do it without her consent, not even the smallest brush of skin, and they would definitely _never_ ask it of her.   
  
  
From the little Madi has opened up to Harper and Clarke, they know that she has been through hell since her earliest memories. Her parents, both mutants, were killed, she tells them. She was taken by their murderers and put in a remote medical facility, not Cage’s but similar. _“Do you remember what they did?”_ Harper had asked softly, kindly. _“Experiments,”_ Madi had murmured back. And then two years ago, Cage had taken her and the experiments had continued as he tried to exploit her for a mutant cure. _“No one will ever hurt you again, Madi,”_ Clarke had said firmly. And since that moment, Madi had stuck by Clarke’s side, almost as if Clarke had made the personal promise of being her protector. That night Clarke had told Bellamy that she would be exactly that.  
  
  
The next day they talked about it and it required little discussion that the exploitation of Madi’s powers ended the day they rescued her from Cage’s facility. Clarke had tried to apologise to Bellamy, that their only solution to her “problem” could never be touched. Bellamy had responded firmly and strictly, _“There’s nothing to apologise for. This is as much my decision as it is yours. And don’t you ever call your abilities a problem again.”_  
  
  
The front door opens and all their eyes fly to the three people who enter. Kane walks through the door first, followed by Callie and then Sinclair. They look exhausted and Raven, Jasper and Lincoln clear their sofa to allow their three Professors to drop into their places.  
  
  
And while Kane had thought there would be a barrage of questions the moment they returned, he is instead met with silence loaded with anticipation and anxiety.   
  
  
“Well?” Raven finally asks after a few seconds of silence. But there are traces of smiles on Callie and Sinclair’s tired faces, which makes the students hold their breaths with hope.   
  
  
“The Care of Mutantkind,” Kane says and he looks like he is fighting tears.   
  
  
“What’s that?” Wells asks the question for them all.   
  
  
Kane sucks in a deep and steadying breath through his nose before answering. “The Care of Mutantkind bill will make it illegal to discriminate against mutants in health care.” Callie pitches forward, face burying into her hands and they hear their Professor choke out a sob.   
  
  
“Professor?” Jasper asks, perching beside her and hesitatingly placing his hand on her back.   
  
  
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Bellamy asks as Callie’s shoulders shake with sobs.   
  
  
“Yes,” she lifts her face to look at them and they see that she is smiling through her tears. “Yes, yes, yes.”   
  
  
Tears slip down Clarke’s cheeks and when Bellamy looks around the room, he sees all his friends look equally emotional.  
  
  
“It’s historical,” Kane says, swiping at his own eyes. “It’s the first bill that will ever be proposed to aid Mutantkind in our country.”  
  
  
“Who’s proposing it?” Clarke asks.  
  
  
“Thelonius,” Kane answers, turning to look at Wells. “Thank you.”  
  
  
“What for?” Wells asks, shaking his head.  
  
  
“I know you had a big hand in convincing your father to go through with the meeting today. To invite us and to simply listen to what we had to say,” Kane responds. “This couldn’t have happened without the allyship you have offered us since the day you entered our lives.”  
  
  
“Nonsense,” Wells says. “It was nothing.” Bellamy happens to glance in Raven’s direction, which allows him to catch her eyes shining for the boy.   
  
  
“It was everything,” Callie says. “Because of today’s meeting, because you convinced your father to call us, _we_ were able to convince him that this was a cause worth fighting for.”  
  
  
“And we couldn’t have done it without Abby,” Sinclair says, looking at Clarke. “She… my god, she really came through for us.”  
  
  
“She had an entire file of notes from interviews collected from the students here,” Kane says. “Personal accounts about the horrors, big and small, that mutants face outside these walls.”   
  
  
“I know that the onus shouldn’t be on mutants to explain why we deserve basic human rights,” Callie says. “We shouldn’t have to _fight_ for equality and justice, not when it’s our birthright. But progress has to start somewhere. And I’m really proud that it starts with us. All of us. Right here.” She looks at everyone in the room. “The fight will be long and hard and at times unfair, but I know that we can make it. And I know that the further we go, the more allies we will gain along the way- non-mutant allies, and soon it won’t just be our fight. It won’t just be a mutant fight. It will be a people’s fight.”   
  
  
Kane nods and looks as moved by her words as everybody else in the room.   
  
  
“How come healthcare?” Monty asks. “It’s an excellent start- but why this of the many things?”  
  
  
“We have Callie to thank for that,” Kane says. “She went in prepared with a one hour presentation about the difficulties and obstacles mutants face in the healthcare system. We went in with a few different issues, but Callie was able to drive healthcare home.”  
  
  
“In light of this, however...” Callie starts and this time when her eyes fill up, they are tinted with sadness. “A new hospital wing is going to be opened in Ark General, a department for the care of Mutantkind and… I’ve been asked to lead the set up.”  
  
  
“Professor, that’s excellent news,” Clarke says.  
  
  
“But how will you do that _and_ be here with us?” Jasper asks, but everyone in the room already knows her response as a heavy silence settles upon them.  
  
  
“I won’t,” she finally answers, tears slipping down her cheeks. “I will be resigning my post here to join the hospital full time.” She turns to Kane, who smiles through his own wet eyes. She reaches out to hold his hand. “I have had the most rewarding twenty years of my life here in this school, this _home_. And I will always be so grateful for my time here, with all of you.” She turns to her students. “And I wish… I wish that I could give you all more, but-” she breaks off, her voice stuttering with sorrow about leaving her students, her children. She ducks her head, wipes her eyes with the sleeve at her wrist.   
  
  
“Professor,” Clarke says and stops to clear her throat of its tightness. Callie looks up. “You have given us everything. Other than being our teacher, you gave us the love and support and care that we all so desperately needed in a family.” She glances around their group and they nod in agreement. “And as much as we would hate for you to leave, the mutants out there need you. They need the Callie Cartwright that we were blessed with for all these years. We are honoured to call you our Professor, because we know that you’re going to help shape the future. But to do that, we have to let you go. But please know that you’re still our family, no matter where you are. And you can be damn sure that we’re still going to call and text when we need the smallest hint of medical advice.”  
  
  
“Like when I accidentally portal into a doorway and give myself a concussion,” Monty grins.  
  
  
“Or when I burn _myself_ on a freaking solar blast, because I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the last time,” Murphy says.  
  
  
“Or when I avalanche something incorrectly and give myself a migraine,” Raven says.  
  
  
Callie weeps through their words, all the while smiling in awe. “I love you all so much.” Jasper puts his arms around his Professor and hugs her tightly. And before she knows it, she is part of the biggest group hug she’s ever had the pleasure of being part of.   
  
  
For the first time since his parents disowned him twenty three years ago, Marcus Kane cries through the entire night. But this time, it is out of sheer relief, happiness and hope.  
  
  
+++  
  
  
Clarke struggles with the trauma of her kidnapping. The first week is the toughest, and she spends most of her days under her covers with the curtains drawn shut. But her friends are patient and loving in a way she should have expected but nonetheless feels undeserving of.   
  
  
On the first morning after New Years, it’s Octavia who climbs into the bed with her. Clarke reaches for the gloves on her bedside when Octavia enters the room a few hours after Clarke wakes up from a restless night. But Octavia simply shakes her head, whispering, “Don’t worry about that” and climbs into the bed before Clarke has had the chance to grab her gloves. She soon finds out why when she takes in Octavia’s full leggings, turtleneck and gloves. It makes her eyes burn with tears.  
  
  
“You skipped breakfast,” Octavia says softly, lying on her stomach to face her friend. Clarke nods and can’t find the strength to speak. “It’s okay,” Octavia says, fingers finding hers and holding tight. “We can stay here as long as you like.”  
  
  
Clarke knows that Octavia has a date with Lincoln over lunch. It makes her feel more guilty than she already feels, and the tears well up in her eyes.  
  
  
“Oh, Clarke,” Octavia whispers, shuffling closer and wiping her gloved knuckles over Clarke’s cheek. “You’re safe now, okay? We’ve got you.”   
  
  
They lie like this as the hours stretch past, and even when Octavia’s stomach rumbles for lunch, she remains beside Clarke, idly talking about a new book or film she had seen recently. She never asks Clarke questions, never urges her to respond, and Clarke feels overwhelmed with gratitude for the girl beside her.   
  
  
Raven enters the room a little after lunch holding a tray laden with food. She places it on Clarke’s desk before turning to the window and opening one of the curtains, the one further away from where Clarke is. A little bit of sunlight streams through the room, not enough to startle Clarke or even make her blink through the brightness, just enough that they can see each other a little bit better.   
  
  
“Hungry?” Raven asks softly and Clarke sniffs through a blocked nose and nods. Octavia helps Clarke into a seated position and Raven places the tray on Octavia’s lap. “Some light sandwiches and orange juice. You don’t have to eat if you don’t feel like it. But it might help.”   
  
  
“Thank you,” Clarke says, her voice scratchy. She sips the orange juice, her fingers trembling, but her friends are patient and it makes her want to cry all over again.   
  
  
Wells asks if he can come in shortly after they finish with lunch. And when the girls are gone and he sits down beside her, she finally falls apart. She pitches into his shoulder and he catches her in a tight embrace as she weeps. Her friends here know her and love her and care for and she returns the sentiments with everything she has and can’t imagine a life without them, but Wells is still different. Wells is… Wells. He’s the boy who’s known her since as far as her memory extends, he’s the boy who’s loved her through kindergarten then school then college. He’s the one who was there with her through every impossible night and every tired morning, the one who was there with her through every victory and every joy, the one she held through his mother’s death and the one who held her through her father’s and then held her some more when their parents started withdrawing from them. And so she knows how to fall apart in front of him in a way that she cannot in front of anybody else in the world.   
  
  
He holds her, whispering again and again, “I got you. It’s going to be okay.”   
  
  
“I was so scared,” she sobs and he hugs her closer. “I was so scared, Wells.”   
  
  
“I know,” he says, rubbing her back. “I can’t imagine what you went through.”  
  
  
“If it had worked,” she says, trying to stem the tide of tears, “then Mutantkind would be wiped out. And it would have been my fault.”   
  
  
“Clarke, _no_!” Wells says, pulling out of the embrace to grasp her shoulders and look into her eyes. “None of that was or would have been your fault.”  
  
  
“It was _my_ powers that-”  
  
  
“Do you blame Madi?”   
  
  
“What?”  
  
  
“It was _her_ ability that would have done the wiping. You were simply the energy source,” Wells says. “If it had worked, would you have blamed Madi?”   
  
  
“Of course not,” Clarke says. “She was exploited.”  
  
  
“So were you,” Wells says. “It’s as simple as that. Your powers were taken advantage of, _you_ were taken advantage of. You were exploited just like she was.”  
  
  
“She had it much worse,” Clarke says with feeling.   
  
  
“The magnitude of her pain doesn’t erase yours,” Wells says firmly. “You are allowed to feel the full extent of your trauma without comparing it to somebody else’s. And Clarke,” his fingers clutch her shoulders, “none of it was either of your faults. I will repeat it over and over and over again until you believe it. Okay?”   
  
  
Clarke doesn’t respond, instead flinging herself back into his arms. He holds her and continues to hold her as the hours go by, and promises the universe that he would hold her until she was ready to face the world once more.   
  
  
+++  
  
  
“Good morning, Professor,” Clarke says, closing the door behind her.   
  
  
“Good morning, Clarke,” Kane greets back, looking briefly at Clarke to smile before turning his eyes back to the television playing on the wall across from his desk. Clarke turns to her left to look at what Kane’s dedicating his focus to but can already guess what it might be. The school was abuzz with excitement.   
  
  
An Ark Times news broadcaster is sitting with her companion and reciting the day’s breaking news- “The very first bill in support of Mutantkind has just been passed in parliament. This historic bill comes just six weeks after ex army general Cage Wallace kidnapped and tortured a group of young mutants in order to enact mass eradication of mutant abilities. While Wallace’s plans were disrupted and the captured mutants saved, it begged several questions about the treatment of Mutantkind in our country and beyond. Ark Mayor Thelonius Jaha proposed in this bill that….”  
  
  
“I don’t believe it,” Clarke breathes, turning to her Professor.   
  
  
“It’s happening,” Kane says, muting the television and turning to his student.  
  
  
“You asked to see me, Professor?”  
  
  
“I did,” Kane says, standing up and coming around the table towards her. He stops just in front of her, grasps her upper arms gently. “How are you, Clarke?”  
  
  
“I’m… recovering,” Clarke says, eyes already stinging. “It’s been rocky but- everyone’s been really kind.”  
  
  
“You went through a lot,” Kane says. “Take all the time you need to recover, everything else can wait. And we are all here for you, anything you need. Okay?” Clarke lets a tear fall and before she can respond, Kane is holding her in his embrace. She hugs him tightly, suddenly feeling like she was in her father’s arms. When he pulls away, he squeezes her arms lightly. “I’m very proud of you.”  
  
  
“I’m proud of all of us,” Clarke says, glancing at the television. “Look at how much we’ve achieved. Something great has come from an awful event.”  
  
  
“Cage Wallace wanted to eradicate mutantkind,” Kane says. “Instead, we got a bill passed in government that will help our people.”   
  
  
“That might be a punishment worse than prison for him,” Clarke says, sharing a smile with her headmaster.   
  
  
“Professor Cartwright will start supporting the set up of the bill and leading the new hospital wing from next month,” Kane says and something in his eyes tells Clarke that _this_ was why she had been summoned to his office. But she was yet to figure out what this had to do with her.   
  
  
“How long will that take?” She asks.  
  
  
“It could be years before it’s fully functional,” Kane says.   
  
  
“So we won’t have an anatomy teacher? Who will run the medical wing?” Clarke asks worriedly.   
  
  
“Clarke…” Kane says, hesitating. “Your mother has volunteered to take up Callie’s post.” Clarke’s eyes widen and she feels wholly unprepared for this piece of news.   
  
  
“What? What about her post as Senator? She… she doesn’t know much about mutant anatomy,” Clarke stutters.   
  
  
“Her six year term is ending soon,” Kane explains. “She plans on stepping down, but she is doing it knowing that the people who are next in line for her position are in support of the bills supporting Mutantkind. She would be leaving her position in good hands. As for her knowledge about mutant anatomy, Callie will put her through intensive training over the next month, and then will work with her part-time to make sure she knows what she’s doing. We’ll have to make some changes in curriculum and Callie will choose a few top students to aid Abby in running the medical wing and classes, but Callie believes that Abby will be able to take over.”  
  
  
“Oh… that’s- that’s-” she breaks off, turning a weak smile to her Professor, “that’s a lot to take in.”  
  
  
“I have no doubt,” Kane says, his lips stretching into a serious frown. “The reason I’m sharing this news with you is because I want your approval before we make it official.”  
  
  
“My approval? What do you mean?”  
  
  
“Are you okay with your mother joining the school?” Kane asks. “Because if you say that you’re not, we won’t go through with it. We will find another solution.”  
  
  
“Why me?”  
  
  
“Because this is your home. And I would never do anything to make your life here uncomfortable. No matter how much she regrets it, Abby forced you out of your own home and into this one. And even though she is going to do everything she can to make it right, your comfort here is more important to me than her’s. So the final decision is yours, Clarke. If you would rather that she doesn’t join our home, all you have to do is say it and I will accept your decision with no judgement and no attempt to change your mind.”  
  
  
“Professor…” Clarke says softly, feeling undeniably grateful to the man in front of her. The man who had given her, and countless others, a home when they had nowhere else to go. A man who had given them all a family when they had nobody else to turn to. “Thank you for asking me, it means more than you can imagine. But I wouldn’t have a problem with my mother coming here.”  
  
  
“Are you sure?”   
  
  
“Yes,” she says honestly. “I know she’s trying to make it up to me, and I know she’s trying hard. But I don’t think taking over Callie’s post is just her trying to tell _me_ that she’s sorry. This is more- this is her trying to tell us _all_ that she’s sorry- me, you, Callie, my dad. This is her trying to make it up to Mutantkind in a way that would make my dad really proud. And with Callie gone, I know that we’ll need someone like her. So of course I won’t say no.”  
  
  
“Okay,” Kane says, smiling at her. “It should be interesting, having a member of staff who isn’t a mutant.”  
  
  
“It’ll take some getting used to- for everyone,” Clarke warns nervously.   
  
  
“We’ll make it work,” Kane says firmly. “I know we will.”  
  
  
+++  
  
  
“May I… May I sit?”   
  
  
Octavia tears her eyes away from the starlit sky and towards the lady standing a short distance away from her, looking almost cautious. Octavia can’t find a fight within her so she simply shrugs, leaning back against the brickwall of the main building behind her.   
  
  
After a further moment of hesitation, Abby slides down the wall beside Octavia and sits with her knees close to her chest. She follows Octavia’s line of sight and they stare at the midnight sky in silence that Abby doesn’t attempt to disturb, though the sight of the young girl sitting on the grass alone at one in the morning had worried her. She had changed out of her night clothes, washed the sleep out of her face, and stood by her window considering whether to alert Clarke or Bellamy. She had finally decided to go herself. It had been six months since she had started living in their home. She couldn’t be afraid of Octavia forever.   
  
  
“My mother died on this day eight years ago.”   
  
  
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Abby says quietly.   
  
  
Octavia scoffs, her lips twisting into a mirthless smile. “Don’t be. I sure as hell am not.” Abby is alarmed but doesn’t let it show. She stays quiet. “Not all daughters can forgive their mothers. My mother never cared for us. Bellamy worked six jobs a week so that we could survive, while she just became more of a drunk, never lifting a goddamn finger for her family. She made it harder for us to survive.” Octavia turns her head slightly to look at Abby, a challenge in her eyes. “Still sorry for my loss?”   
  
  
Abby is unsure of the right thing to say so she says nothing. Seconds tick by and Abby continues to fight her discomfort at the situation, but she stays.   
  
  
“I don’t think you realise how lucky you are to have a daughter like Clarke.” Octavia’s words surprise her, and she wonders whether it’s any use trying to hide her emotions if Octavia is already in her head. Clarke had once assured her that Octavia doesn’t do that, invade people’s privacy. But Abby always wondered whether that rule applied even for people Octavia disliked.   
  
  
“I do,” Abby replies softly.   
  
  
“No, you don’t,” Octavia says and when her eyes well up, this time Abby is unable to mask her emotions and her lips part in shock. “You don’t realise how lucky you are. I didn’t think it was possible for me to love someone other than my brother. I didn’t trust people, I didn’t believe that anybody could be _good_. But Clarke? Clarke is the best damn person I’ve ever met.” Tears slip down Octavia’s cheeks and she doesn’t bother wiping them away. “I think… I think that you’re a terrible person for abandoning her. I think you’re a terrible mother and parent and I think that people like that can never make it up to their children for the hurt they caused, not in a million lifetimes.” Abby’s eyes squeeze shut and her own cheeks are wet now. Her heart feels like it is broken but she knows that the hurt she feels is nothing compared to the hurt she has caused and the hurt that children like Octavia have grown up feeling.  
  
  
Octavia turns to Abby and Abby wants to look away from the younger girl’s tired eyes, but she owes it to her to hold her gaze. The next words out of Octavia’s mouth leave Abby’s heart aching. “Prove me wrong. _Please,_ prove me wrong. Clarke deserves everything you can give to her. I never got that- the chance to believe that mothers can redeem themselves. I never got to wonder whether I deserved my mother’s love, because she never had a second chance to try and love me. Hold Clarke tight and never let her go. Never let her feel like she is less than what she is. And make sure she knows how much you love her every single day and how damn sorry you are. And in doing so, prove me wrong. Can you do that? Tell me you can do that.”  
  
  
Abby nods jerkily and squeezes her fingers gently around Octavia’s forearm, for both their sakes. She can’t find the words to respond, but the promise is clear to them both.   
  
  
Octavia stares at her a moment before turning back to the sky. Abby drops her arm and settles against the brickwall, her heart beating fast.   
  
  
For Clarke, the first few weeks of her mother living and working at the school are a bit awkward. But Abby tries to stay out of Clarke’s way, tries to make sure she doesn’t bother her in any way, which Clarke appreciates. But she also knows that her mother is trying hard to make up for her past mistakes, and when Abby suggests that they have lunch once every two weeks, just the two of them, to talk, Clarke makes a decision. She lost her father already, and she finds herself in the position to choose whether she wants to lose her mother too. She chooses not to. Forgiveness doesn’t need to come immediately, it doesn’t need to come easy, and god knows her mother would have to work hard for it, but Clarke knows that it will come. So she agrees to Abby’s lunch proposition, and after the first three lunches, it gets easier and easier. She realises that she no longer minds running into her mother, and occasionally even actively seeks her out.   
  
  
It’s six months after Abby joins the school when Clarke knows that she has forgiven her mother. Abby walks into her room after breakfast, looking a bit like she is in a daze. Clarke hadn’t seen her the entire morning, not even taking a walk with Diyoza like she normally did on a Saturday morning, and it worries her a little.   
  
  
She sinks into Clarke’s bed wordlessly and Clarke turns in her deskchair to look at her.   
  
  
“I was so wrong,” Abby says, her voice low and cracked. “To have asked you to leave, to have asked you to find a solution.”   
  
  
Clarke sighs, “I know you’re trying to make up for it.”   
  
  
“I don’t know if it will ever be enough,” Abby exhales, lungs polluted with hurt. “Yesterday I was reminded about how lucky I am to have you as a daughter. And you deserved a mother you would feel lucky to have too. I’m sorry I couldn’t be her.” Tears spill onto Abby’s cheeks and Clarke moves to the bed beside her.   
  
  
“Mom, you’re trying your best,” Clarke says, hand on her shoulder. “That’s good enough for me.”  
  
  
“It shouldn’t be!” Abby cries out. “A mother who is just trying her best shouldn’t be good enough for you, Clarke. Not _you_. You deserve more.”  
  
  
“Maybe,” Clarke says, though her voice is gentle. “Maybe I do. All the students here do. But that’s not what we got and that’s just the way things are. Sometimes people get less than they deserve, but we still carry forward. But mom, _you_ aren’t part of that less, you-”  
  
  
“I was wrong, Clarke,” Abby says firmly, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. “I was wrong and you do not have to defend me, you do not have to make _me_ feel better about it. I let you go when I should have held you tighter. Like your father would have done. I failed you both but I am promising you that I will spend the rest of my life making up for it.”   
  
  
Clarke stares at her mother, looking as broken as she looked the day her father died. And so she gathers her mother in her arms and hugs her. She doesn’t say it’s okay, she doesn’t offer any further words of comfort, she doesn’t tell her that she forgives her already, she lets her mother weep because perhaps her mother was holding on to the pain as much as she was, except that while Clarke had left home and found a family- her mother had lost the only family she had left and was trying desperately to win it back. Abby deserved the chance to fight for her family, and Clarke deserved to be fought for.   
  
  
From that day onwards, Abby doubles- no, _triples_ her efforts to be there for not just Clarke, but all of them. And Clarke notices. Of course she notices. And amongst all the things her mother does to make it up to her, she most appreciates the things she does for her friends.   
  
  
Clarke sees it in the little things. She sees it when Abby offers to teach Monty how to play the piano in the living room and his eyes light up while he learns. She sees it in the way Harper and Jasper grin excitedly after they finish baking cupcakes that Abby instructs them through and the three of them emerge from the shared kitchen covered in flour. She sees it in the way Raven stares at Abby after she injures her wrist bone from a misfired tremor and Abby knows exactly how to help her because she had studied extensively from Callie how to help each and every one of them. She sees it in the kind set of Lincoln’s shoulders as he explains to her his love for botany and she listens patiently and accompanies him to the gardens once a week to learn more and lend a hand while doing so. Even Murphy softens through his growing interest in the medical sciences as Abby takes him under her wing, allowing him to assist her in the medbay and later, during lessons for the younger classes.   
  
  
And Clarke knows that she tries even harder with Octavia. Octavia, who slowly begins to understand forgiveness. Octavia, who begins to learn that people can change. It takes time, which Abby seems to have no problem with. And it takes patience, which Abby dedicates herself to fully. The first time Clarke sees Octavia smile at Abby is on a Sunday afternoon eight months after Abby joins the school. Bellamy and Abby are engaged in an intense game of chess and when Abby takes his rook and he releases a frustrated huff, Octavia cracks a grin because she’s never seen her brother matched so equally before. Abby glances in their direction and Clarke thinks Octavia’s smile will drop but it doesn’t, and Abby winks at Octavia.   
  
  
Abby pops into Clarke’s room a week after that, a yellow cardigan in her hands. Octavia and Clarke are working on an assignment together and they look up when she knocks on the door.   
  
  
“Clarke, honey, I’m thinking of replacing this cardigan next week- do you want it?” And Clarke resists furrowing her eyebrows because her mother knows that Clarke dislikes this particular cardigan, always insisting that the color clashes with her hair.   
  
  
“No, thanks,” she simply responds and then understands her mother’s angle with her next, more hesitant question.  
  
  
“Octavia? Would you like it?” Octavia’s breath catches, only for a moment, only very quietly. Clarke waits breath-held for Octavia’s response. And it’s clearly an internal battle for the other girl, who stares between the cardigan and Abby.   
  
  
“It would look really good on you,” Clarke encourages quietly with a smile.  
  
  
“Are- are you sure?” Octavia finally replies and Abby nods nonchalantly, as if this whole situation isn’t a very big deal, but all three of them know that it is. “Um, yeah, okay, sure. If you’re going to throw it out anyway.”   
  
  
Octavia doesn’t wear the cardigan in public for the first two weeks and Clarke asks Bellamy about it. He smiles at her reassuringly and says, “She wears it in our room. She loves it, Clarke. It means a lot to her- and I think that’s what scares her. Our mom never passed on anything to her- so I think she’s having a bit of a war with her past.”   
  
  
“Do you think she’ll be okay?” Clarke asks worriedly.  
  
  
“I think she’s going to be just fine,” Bellamy says, hugging her into his side. She rests her head on his chest. Bellamy is right. And Clarke watches her friends soften and grow and find out what it’s like to forgive someone who represents to all of them a parent who has wronged them.   
  
  
And with it, she sees her mother change. She sees the hard lines in her face get replaced by affectionate smiles and twinkling eyes. She sees her mother look like she did before her father died, young and gentle and quietly hopeful. She sees first hand how people help people heal from things they don’t realise they need healing from.  
  
  
+++  
  
  
Clarke receives a visitor six weeks after the Care of Mutantkind bill is passed, twelve weeks after they were kidnapped by Cage. As Murphy leads the visitor to their kitchen, he begins to worry that this wasn’t the best decision- allowing this visitor to be here. He knows who she is, what had happened, and how much pain this part of Clarke’s past carries.  
  
  
“Everything okay?” Clarke asks when Murphy walks into the kitchen.  
  
  
“You have a visitor,” he says and the edge in his voice makes her stand up with her eyebrows furrowed.   
  
  
“Who is it?” Clarke prompts. Murphy steps aside and ushers the person outside into the doorway. Clarke’s breath catches and anxiety pumps through her heart.   
  
  
“Niylah?” Clarke whispers.   
  
  
“Hi, Clarke,” Niylah responds, offering her a nervous smile. It’s been almost a year since Clarke saw Niylah last, lying comatose in a hospital bed. Her blonde hair is longer, tied into a braid over her shoulder. Her angular cheeks and thin lips remain pulled into a hesitant smile and her blue eyes are soft.   
  
  
“Wh-What are you doing here?” Clarke stutters and Octavia reaches up from her seated position beside her to grasp her friend’s hand.  
  
  
“I was wondering if you wanted to talk?” Niylah asks. “It’s totally fine if you don’t. I should have texted or something before showing up. But it was a little hard to predict when I could run away from home without being seen.”  
  
  
“How- how did you find us? How did you get here?” Clarke asks, heart thundering. She felt like she was in a dream. Or a nightmare. She wasn’t sure yet.   
  
  
“I went to Wells and it took some convincing but he agreed to drive me here,” Niylah says. At this, Clarke’s heart calms a bit. If Wells allowed Niylah to come here, perhaps it was for a good reason. “Can we talk?”   
  
  
“Um- yeah, yeah of course,” Clarke says. She glances at Octavia and Bellamy and then Murphy and the siblings stand up.  
  
  
“We’ll be outside if you need us,” Bellamy says softly, squeezing her shoulder. Octavia’s fingers tighten around hers briefly before letting go. They leave the kitchen and Clarke has no doubt that they would be sitting in the corridor right outside until her conversation was over. Just in case.  
  
  
Niylah approaches the kitchen table and Clarke gestures to the seat across from her and they sit down, both looking as nervous as the other.  
  
  
“I’m sorry.” Clarke is startled to find that she isn’t the only one who spoke.   
  
  
“Niylah, what are _you_ sorry for?” Clarke asks. She swallows hard before saying, “I’m the one who put you in a coma.”  
  
  
“That was an accident,” Niylah says, frowning. “You didn’t mean to do that.”  
  
  
“Niylah, you were unconscious for almost two weeks,” Clarke says. “I did that to you.”  
  
  
“It’s not like you knew it would happen,” Niylah says, and her frown flips into a slightly amused smile. “It had never happened before while kissing.” Clarke breathes out a laugh, ducking her head. Niylah then turns serious once more, “Clarke, I never blamed you for what happened. _Never_. You were- _are-_ one of the best people I know in my life and I knew that whatever happened, it had to have been an accident. But by the time I woke up, everything was moving so quickly. My parents were threatening to file a lawsuit, your mother was being questioned, nobody was telling me anything about where _you_ were. It was- it was all just happening so suddenly and I didn’t have any time to process any of it. And then the next thing I knew, my parents said you were going away somewhere and wouldn’t be returning. I didn’t- I didn’t understand what was happening and nobody had any answers for me.”  
  
  
“I’m still really sorry,” Clarke whispers.  
  
  
“I know,” Niylah says, her smile warm. “And I forgave you almost as soon as I found out what happened. It’s me who should be apologising for more recent events.”  
  
  
“What are you talking about?” Clarke asks.  
  
  
“My father was the one who told Cage about your powers,” Niylah says, eyes downcast and shameful. “I don’t know what his intentions were… whether he knew what Cage was looking to do. But it’s his fault that Cage found out, it’s his fault that Cage took you and your friends and hurt you. I only found out after the bill passed, after Cage’s whole story was in the news- what he did to you and the little girl. My father made a comment and… I just… I had no idea… I- I’m so sorry, Clarke.”  
  
  
Clarke is silent, Niylah’s confession running through her mind. Whatever Niylah’s father’s intentions were, however, there was no doubt in her mind about Niylah’s place in the situation.   
  
  
“ _You_ have nothing to apologise for,” Clarke says, reaching out across the table. Niylah meets her halfway, bare fingers curling around Clarke’s gloved hand. “You had nothing to do with your father’s actions, nor his intentions.”  
  
  
“Maybe if I had been clearer about my support for you, despite what happened, maybe he wouldn’t have-”  
  
  
“Niylah,” Clarke interjects gently. “I don’t think there’s anything you could have done to change what happened. You shouldn’t shoulder that kind of weight. How about we both stop apologising for things that weren’t our fault?” She smiles timidly and Niylah returns it, nodding. “I’m really glad you came to see me.”  
  
  
“Me too,” Niylah says, fingers tight around Clarke’s. “How are you? How is your life here? Your friends seem to really care about you, even the scary guy who showed me the way here.”  
  
  
Clarke chuckles. “That’s Murphy. He takes some getting used to, but he cares deeply for his friends. They all do.” She shrugs a shoulder in a softly happy manner. “I love it here. I’m sad about why it happened, but I’m glad that I found this place. I’m glad I found these people, people like me who… who understand. They’re my family now, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”  
  
  
“I’m really glad, Clarke,” Niylah says. “And I’m really glad about the bill that passed. I hope it’s only the first of many.”  
  
  
“Me too,” Clarke smiles.   
  
  
“Whatever happens, you have an ally in me,” Niylah replies and Clarke’s eyes sting. “Whatever you need, any of you, you’ve got me in your corner.”  
  
  
And Clarke thinks about Callie’s speech after they had returned from their meeting with Jaha, how she had said that the fight would slowly not be just theirs to shoulder, that they would gather allies who aren’t mutants, allies who would fight for them as fiercely as they would fight for themselves. And she looks at Niylah and thinks- _this_ , this is how that begins.  
  
  
+++  
  
  
The mutant protection task force is assembled in March, once they have recovered from Cage’s attack, once he is behind bars, once their first bill is passed. Kane calls a meeting with their close knit group of friends and once they know what their responsibilities are, they slowly begin taking to the streets.   
  
  
Being the one with the most experience out on the streets, Indra leads the task force, Lincoln as her second. Their trip always begins with Kane linking up to Cerebro, which Raven and Sinclair have powered up significantly in order for Kane to be able to scout the cities telepathically and identify any mutants in need. Once they pinpoint said mutant, a pair or group of them are deployed to go and find the mutant and find out what they can and on an urgent basis, bring them to their home on the same trip. Often the trips are straightforward, but more often are they complicated. Sometimes the mutants fight back in fear, sometimes their families threaten to call the police, sometimes the police _are_ called, and sometimes they fail to reach the mutant at all. It can be as rewarding as it is heart-breaking, and every time the team return after a failed mission without an abandoned mutant in tow, the frustration and fear lies heavy upon all their shoulders.  
  
  
But they never give up, they keep fighting- just like Kane did for all of them, just like Indra constantly teaches them to. They occasionally find allies on the outside, people who become their ears and eyes in the cities- doctors in hospitals, police on patrol, teachers from different schools, even a taxi driver or two who promise to keep their eyes open. They aren’t always mutants, which gives them hope for a better, more unified tomorrow.   
  
  
As the months go by, the task force gains new members within the school. Gina joins a few months in, but has a role more similar to Harper- the after-care of the students they bring in from the cities. Kane, Callie and Abby train Harper and Gina thoroughly, making sure they have all the tools and sensitivity to deal with the new recruits. After a year working on the streets with the others, Monty opts to join the girls in the after-care, the fights proving to be too much for him.   
  
  
Some who join the school in the years that follow make a quick connection with their ever-growing group of friends. There’s Emori, who they find living alone in an abandoned train station, fighting and fending for herself since she was a child. She admits to stealing and stabbing her way through the last eighteen years of her life. But where they expect her to be violent and withdrawn, she is kind and gentle, but her fighting and surviving capability must never be underestimated. Her gift is detecting and identifying the abilities and power levels of other mutants simply by being in their presence. Raven quips that her true gift is her ability to make Murphy behave like a decent human being. Murphy grumbles and glares at this, but he silently agrees, having fallen very fast and very hard for the girl.   
  
  
Then there’s Echo, who was rescued from an underground mutant fighting ring. She has a sonic scream powerful enough to shatter all the windows across the school, and the students once watched in wide-eyed shock as she pinned Diyoza to the mat in a hand-to-hand combat session. Diyoza had expected to emerge victorious, as she always did in her quick sessions with her students, and as she lay on her back absolutely winded, she took a moment to register exactly what had happened. Echo hadn’t offered an apology but she had held out a hand to help her new Professor up. Later that week, after suffering from slightly bruised pride, she had asked Echo if she would consider assisting her with the defense classes. Echo had never been asked to _help_ others or teach them what she knew, always keeping her own skills a closely guarded secret because her survival depended on it. But she agrees anyway, and soon realises that this is how she wanted to take advantage of her turbulent past, by helping others rise. And when Diyoza returns to Shallow Valley to be with her ill mother for a year, Echo takes over her classes. The students realise that they are as afraid of their new teacher as they were of Diyoza. Echo plans to keep it that way.  
  
  
As more bills protecting mutants are passed in parliament, the task force finds that their job gets easier. With mutants slowly having better access to healthcare, housing, education and employment, they find fewer and fewer mutants on the street who require their help or a new home. The progress is slow, very slow, and takes decades- but it gets better, and with every passing year, their team returns home from trips with fewer mutants in tow. And when that happens, it is with smiles on their faces and not heavy hearts. Because their school and home is now not the only place for mutants to turn to for better lives.  
  
  
+++  
  
  
Madi realises quite quickly, within the first month of being at Marcus Kane’s Home for the Gifted, the effect she has on the girl who has been looking out for her, Clarke Griffin. She finds out that Clarke stole her powers for Cage Wallace’s machine, she finds out immediately after that she never had a choice in the matter.   
  
  
It’s during the third week at the school that Madi leans up to peck Clarke on the cheek. She means it to be quick and slight, because she isn’t used to receiving affection, let alone giving it to others. But Clarke had prepared a small picnic for the three of them, including Harper, by the lake, and it’s the very first time that Madi can remember where she feels completely safe. Happy too, of course, but specifically safe. It is not a feeling she is used to, it is not a feeling she ever thought she would experience, not after everything she’s been through. She had given up on the dream of ever knowing kindness, but the two girls beside her were showing her that perhaps it was okay to start dreaming again.   
  
  
So she expresses her gratitude not through words but through her actions. Her fingers close around Clarke’s arm and she rises up from her seated position on the blanket to press her lips swiftly to Clarke’s cheek. Clarke doesn’t see it coming, and as soon as Madi makes contact, Clarke jerks backwards as if she has been burnt. Her eyes are blown wide and her breath seems stuck in her throat and Harper gasps softly behind her. Madi doesn’t understand. Clarke raises her hand slowly to brush her fingertips against her cheek, just over the place Madi kissed her. And then after a few moments of heavy silence, where Madi begins to grow nervous and opens her mouth to stutter out an apology, Clarke exhales through a watery smile. Madi hears Harper also breathe out and laugh gently behind her.   
  
  
“Did- did I do something wrong?” Madi asks.  
  
  
“No!” Clarke says, her gloved hand closing around Madi’s upper arm tenderly. “No, of course not. I was just… I was just surprised.” She doesn’t offer any further explanation and Madi doesn’t ask. But from that moment on, she watches and learns. Watches how the boy who loves Clarke always slips on gloves before touching her cheek and learns that it is because he cannot touch her skin with his. Watches how easily the boy whose name she learns is Bellamy kisses his sister’s forehead but the most he does with Clarke is kiss her gloved hands. She watches him in particular because he is the most affectionate with her, because he seems to touch her the most. But she learns that their touches are limited, always separated by a layer of fabric.   
  
  
And so Madi understands why she is different from everybody else, why her powers give her an unexpected advantage in loving Clarke. And so she slowly begins kissing Clarke on the cheek as often as she can, in hellos and goodbyes, in good mornings and goodnights. And every time she does, she sees Clarke’s eyes widen a fraction before softening and shining. And every time she does, Clarke grows more used to Madi’s touch. Madi works her way into doing more, grasping her bare wrist with her fingers or pressing her palm against the back of Clarke’s neck whenever she hugs her. Eventually, Clarke’s eyes stop widening with initial shock, but her eyes continue to shine, and her lips still smile, every single time.   
  
  
Clarke sits her down in the third month that they know each other, long after Madi has decided she loves Clarke fiercely. She touches a gloved hand to Madi’s knee and says, “I don’t want you to feel like you have to make contact with my skin to make me happy.” Because of course Clarke notices that she’s doing it actively, Clarke notices everything.   
  
  
“I’m not,” Madi replies. “I’m doing it because I want to.”  
  
  
“Madi, I know you know that I can’t touch anybody else,” Clarke says heavily.  
  
  
“And I know that you know that my entire life, no one has ever cared for me,” Madi says. “But you do. I’ve never been hugged or kissed when I was a child, I never had that. So I’m doing this for you _and_ me.”   
  
  
“Okay,” Clarke says after a moment. “But know that you don’t _have_ to do it for me.”  
  
  
Clarke takes a lot longer than Madi expects to get used to it, but perhaps that’s because Clarke remains a bit wary even after their conversation, worried that she is overstepping or forcing Madi to make contact. Madi wants to roll her eyes at the thought, wishing Clarke could give herself more credit.   
  
  
When Clarke’s twenty-second birthday rolls around, a year later, Madi approaches Octavia with an idea for a present, asking her if she thinks it’s a good idea. Octavia _beams_ at her in response and tears even spring to her eyes. Even without a verbal response, Madi knows she approves.   
  
  
So the morning of her birthday, as Clarke is braiding her hair, Madi barges into her room with Bellamy in tow. She’s dragging him by the arm and he looks as confused and amused as Clarke when she stops in the middle of Clarke’s room.   
  
  
“Happy birthday, Clarke,” Madi says, hugging her tightly around the waist. She then pulls back and takes a step back. “Now. I’m going to close my eyes- you have exactly fifteen seconds to kiss.” The amusement drops off Bellamy and Clarke’s faces, replaced with sheer shock. “Or like- whatever you want to do.”  
  
  
“Madi…” Clarke starts but Madi huffs out in frustration.  
  
  
“Clarke, I am old and independent enough to make my own decisions now,” Madi says. “And this is _my_ decision. I know you feel like you’re exploiting me or some nonsense like that- so I’m putting a time limit on it. Fifteen seconds. Do what you want, or nothing at all.” With that, she slams her eyes shut, leaving no more room for debate.   
  
  
Clarke turns to Bellamy and he steps towards her, close enough that she can feel his breath of her face. And then he reaches down to pull her gloves off her hands. And then slowly he wraps his bare fingers around her bare fingers. When Clarke looks up from the miracle, he smiles softly at her before leaning forward to press his lips against her forehead. Tears slip down her cheeks as they stay like this, hands clasped and his kiss below her hairline.   
  
  
“I’m opening my eyes now,” Madi warns and Bellamy pulls away from Clarke, their bodies separating gently. Bellamy hands Clarke back her gloves and she pulls them on silently, too choked with emotion to breathe a word. She then turns to Madi, who is grinning at the two of them wider than they’ve ever seen her smile. Madi flings herself into Clarke, who hugs her so tightly she wonders if her bones might break. Oh, what a way to go.   
  
  
“Thank you,” Clarke whispers into her hair and Madi tightens her arms around Clarke. Madi has never had a family, never known the touch of a parent or the love of a sibling. But here, held safely in Clarke’s arms, feeling like her broken heart has finally mended, she thinks that this is probably what family feels like.  
  
  
+++  
  
  
A knock at the door makes Clarke and Bellamy glance up from their crossword.   
  
  
“Come in!” Clarke calls and Raven strolls into her room, self-consciously smoothing down the front of her black blouse. She smiles distractedly at Clarke and Bellamy, who are sitting together on her bed, backs against her headboard, before standing by the window and looking out.   
  
  
“Is everything okay?” Bellamy asks cautiously, exchanging a worried glance with Clarke.   
  
  
“Yes,” Raven mumbles before sighing heavily and dropping into the bed at their feet. Bellamy bookmarks the crossword with his pencil and places the book on Clarke’s bedside table.   
  
  
“Should I leave?” Bellamy asks, realising that perhaps Raven expected Clarke to be alone.   
  
  
“No, no,” Raven shakes her head, turning to them. She takes a deep breath before saying, “I don’t know if this is… if this is a good idea.”   
  
  
“Your… date?” Clarke guesses and Raven nods. “Why don’t you think it’s a good idea?”   
  
  
“I’m just- I don’t know how to…” They’ve never seen Raven so unsure of herself.  
  
  
“Raven, if you aren’t ready for this, you don’t have to go,” Clarke reminds her gently. “He would understand. It’s okay if you want to cancel.”  
  
  
“It’s not that,” Raven shakes her head. “I just think… I think that he deserves more.”  
  
  
“What are you talking about, Raven?” Bellamy asks.   
  
  
“I don’t _know_ how to date!” Raven finally bursts. “I don’t know how to be a normal girlfriend, or how to- how to dress fancy or- or be _different_ from this!” She gestures to herself. “He deserves someone without all my baggage and issues, and- and someone who would know how to love him.”  
  
  
“Raven,” Clarke says softly, shuffling forward on the bed and grasping her hand. “Wells asked you for _you_. He doesn’t want fancy clothes and he knows that people like us don’t come without at least a little baggage. Raven, he likes you. Is that so hard to believe?”  
  
  
“Yes!” Raven says. “Because I’m not girlfriend material. I don’t know how to be something for someone else, I just know how to be me for me.”  
  
  
“That’s nothing to feel guilty for,” Bellamy says firmly. “You can only be there for someone else if you’re there for yourself first.”  
  
  
“That’s the thing! I only _know_ how to be there for myself.”  
  
  
“That’s not true,” Clarke says. “You’re there for all of us. You love and care for us fiercely.”   
  
  
“It’s different,” Raven says. “There aren’t… expectations from friendship. I mean, there are but it’s not the same, it’s-,” she growls, frustrated.   
  
  
“It’s different from the expectations you might have from a date,” Bellamy says.   
  
  
“Exactly,” Raven sighs, running a hand through her hair.   
  
  
“Raven, trust me when I say that Wells isn’t doing this with expectations. He likes you and he wants to get to know you better. If anything, _he’s_ worried about what _you_ might think of him,” Clarke says.  
  
  
“Wells is the last person who should be worried about not being enough,” Raven says. “He is incredible.”  
  
  
“So are you,” Clarke reminds her softly. “You’re incredible, Raven. And if today doesn’t go well, you can just go back to being friends.”   
  
  
“You think he’d want that?”   
  
  
“I know that he would,” Clarke assures her. “He cares about you. And I know that he’ll continue to do so even if you aren’t together.”   
  
  
“Give him some credit, and give yourself some credit too,” Bellamy says. “It’s going to be okay.”   
  
  
Raven inhales deeply before releasing it with a hesitant smile. “Okay.”  
  
  
“Is he going to pick you up?” Clarke asks.   
  
  
“He should be here in ten minutes,” Raven says, checking her watch. She’s waiting at the front door when he arrives. She hates that her palms are sweaty, because she’s never been the type of person to feel _nervous_ about spending time with someone else. But Wells was different. That, and she hadn’t been out to Ark without the others since she joined the school three years ago. She wasn’t really sure how it would feel, being back out there without her mutant friends as back up. It made her anxious.   
  
  
To her surprise, when Wells arrives at the gates of the school, he climbs out of his car and after a nod to the chauffeur, the car drives away. He meets her at the doorstep with a paper bag at his side.   
  
  
“Hey,” he grins at her, arms extended. She leans in for a hug and allows his embrace to ease her nerves a bit.   
  
  
“Hi,” she says. “Are we… walking somewhere?” Her eyes flit over his shoulder to the car that is no longer in sight.  
  
  
“Actually, change in plans,” he responds, holding up the paper bag. “Brought some takeout. I thought we could eat by the lake. That way you’ll be somewhere you’re comfortable, and if you hate the way lunch is going- you can just leave and you won’t have to suffer through an awkward car ride home. Is that okay? Maybe I should have asked you first… I just thought-”  
  
  
Raven doesn’t let him finish his sentence. She tackles him in a second hug, arms tight around his neck and face buried in his shoulder in a surprising display of affection. He falls silent, arms wrapping around her waist.   
  
  
“That’s perfect,” she mumbles into his shoulder.  
  
  
“Did you ask him to do that?” Bellamy asks Clarke when they spot the two of them by the lake.   
  
  
“No,” Clarke smiles affectionately. “That was all Wells. And that’s why I think he’s perfect for her.”   
  
  
+++  
  
  
Marcus Kane finds Clarke in the medical wing, his nervous heart thundering in his chest.   
  
  
“Good morning, Professor,” she grins at him and he feels momentarily emotional about how much his student has grown. Except she wasn’t just a student to him anymore, none of them were. They hadn’t been for a long time. They were his children, his own. And seeing them grow has been amongst the greatest joys of his life.   
  
  
“Good morning, Clarke,” he smiles back.   
  
  
“Just give me a second.” She rifles through a few large boxes on the floor, filled with medical supplies, and logs them quickly on the sheet on her desk before turning to her headmaster. “New shipment of supplies from the hospital,” she says, wiping the sweat off her brows. “Murphy and I have been logging for the last two hours. Oh, by the way! Callie sends her regards.” Clarke swipes a christmas card off the desk and passes it to him. “She wishes she could join this year’s party but with the new bill coming up, her schedule is packed.”  
  
  
“And Wells?” Kane asks.  
  
  
“Him too, mostly,” Clarke says. “He said he’ll try to pop in for an hour. You know how much he loves our parties.” Kane smiles widely at this, nodding his head. “I can’t believe we’re getting our second bill passed.”  
  
  
“It’s taken a while but it’s finally happening,” Kane says. “I spoke to Thelonius yesterday- he said the bill should take effect on the thirty-first.”   
  
  
“Exactly four years after Cage kidnapped us,” Clarke says. “We’ve come so far.”   
  
  
“Not without struggle,” Kane reminds her. He seems to hesitate and Clarke remembers that he had seeked her out and wonders now why. Finally he says, “I was wondering if you had some time to take a walk with me.”   
  
  
Clarke raises an eyebrow, finding Kane’s obvious anxiousness unusual. “Is everything alright, Professor?”  
  
  
“Yes, yes, of course,” Kane says.  
  
  
“Do you want to take a walk now?” Clarke asks. “Murphy’s going to take over soon so I’m free.” He nods his head and she scratches down some notes onto a post-it for Murphy before gesturing to the back exit of the medical wing, the one that leads to the gardens behind the dining room. He follows her silently and only once they’re a few minutes into a comfortable stroll around the mansion does he speak again.  
  
  
“The last four years with all of you have been some of the most rewarding, if frightening, years of my life,” he says and they share a smile. “You have carried yourself with grace and strength and bravery in the face of the biggest of challenges and- and I am constantly finding new reasons to feel proud of you. I know that your father would be so proud of you, Clarke, and I hope you feel that every day.”  
  
  
“Thank you, Professor,” Clarke says softly, a blush on her cheeks. “That means a lot.” He swallows hard and she nudges him in the arm. “What is it? You’re scaring me.”  
  
  
“I would like to marry your mother,” he rushes out and Clarke bites back a smile.   
  
  
“Is that why you complimented me so much just now?” She asks, but Kane seems too lost in his nervousness that he doesn’t realise she is teasing.  
  
  
“No! Clarke, no!” He says. “I just… I wanted you to know how much you mean to me.”  
  
  
“I already know that, Professor,” Clarke says quietly, her eyes soft.  
  
  
“You matter to me, a lot,” Kane says and Clarke’s eyes sting. “And I would never want to jeopardise your trust or your comfort, which is why I wanted to ask you first. If- if it’s okay.”  
  
  
“If it’s okay that you love my mother?” Clarke asks and Kane nods timidly. She stops walking and holds his elbow to stop him too. He turns to face her and she almost laughs at the worried creases in his face. “Kane,” she says, opting to step out of her role as his student. He looks up at her. “You have given us- _me_ \- so much. So much. And I know how much you’ve given my mother too. This school has given her a new purpose in life, something she lost when my father died.”  
  
  
“That was all you, Clarke,” Kane says.  
  
  
“No, it wasn’t,” Clarke says firmly. “I’m the reason she came here, you’re one of the reasons she stayed. I forgave her a long time ago, she knows that, and she could have left once she accomplished that. But you gave her so many reasons to stay, so many reasons to rediscover the person she once was. Allowing her to teach, allowing her to run the medical wing- that was you. And you have no idea how much she needed to become this person. After my father died, she was just surviving. You gave her a reason to live once more.” Kane looks choked up, his throat burns with unshed tears. “How can I deny her more happiness? How can I deny _you_ more happiness? And let’s be honest, I’ll probably be denying myself happiness too.”  
  
  
“Clarke…” Kane says and a tear slips down his cheek. He laughs weakly and wipes at it. “I know I’m not your father-”  
  
  
“No one can replace my father, Kane,” Clarke says gently. “But if I had to choose somebody to fill that role in my life once again, it would be _you._ ” She smiles at him and he smiles back and then both of them are holding each other tight and at some point she is crying too but that’s okay because her heart feels full, so full, and so does his. “I know she’ll say yes.”   
  
  
She does. Of course she does. And the school begins preparing for a wedding that each and every student is left buzzing about. Clarke and Miller take charge, leading a small committee that Abby and Kane insist isn’t necessary but gets formed anyway, because “ _It’s a mother-freaking wedding, Professor!_ ” as Jasper eloquently puts it, becoming Clarke and Miller’s second in command. The two engaged allow them to carry on and plan to their heart's content, because it gives the students something to look forward to and celebrate, and it manifests such excitement that neither can find it in their hearts to deny it from the children.   
  
  
Everybody seems to naturally fall into some role or the other. With Clarke and Miller overseeing the entire event, Lincoln and Harper are in charge of flowers, Raven and Emori lead seating and staging, Monty and Jasper take over catering, Octavia and Echo take over decorations and Bellamy gets himself ordained online to officiate the wedding. Almost every student that wants to be involved is involved and there’s very little to worry about by the time the day of the wedding rolls around. The logistics of a wedding are a lot easier to plan when Clarke and Miller simply have to call on a student or teacher in order to grow flowers, create ice sculptures, move heavy furniture through the air, portal food from one room to another, light up the area with the snap of a finger or even clear the weather. “There’s literally someone for everything,” Clarke laughs to Miller, when they need to tighten all the screws on the stage set-up and Sinclair manages it with a simple flick of his wrist, controlling the metal faster than a blink of their eye.   
  
  
When Clarke collects both rings from Kane and her mother for safekeeping before the ceremony, she notices that her mother is no longer wearing her old wedding ring on a chain around her neck. She assumes she has kept it away, safe but secure, a memory to look back upon. She finds out two years after her mother and Kane’s wedding, when Bellamy takes her out onto the frozen lake on Christmas eve, that Abby had given it to him for when he wanted to ask Clarke to marry him. He can’t kneel while wearing his skates, but he asks her on the ice, his fingers interlocked with hers just like they were that first Christmas eve when she had said she quite liked the cold and he had said anybody would be a fool to let her go.   
  
  
But that’s only two years later. For now, it is her mother’s wedding.  
  
  
A month before the wedding, Abby had called Octavia and Raven to her room and tentatively asked them if they would be her bridesmaids. Abby didn’t actually _need_ bridesmaids, she wanted to keep it as simple as possible, and she had already done the wedding thing when she was younger. But she wanted to do this for them. Octavia and Raven, who she considered her own. Octavia and Raven, who now considered her their own. She was honoured to be amongst the people they considered family, and she wanted to show it. They had come a long way since when they first met her, hateful and disgusted at her actions towards Clarke. Rightfully so, and she never expected them to forgive her in this lifetime- but they did. So she asks them if they would like to be her bridesmaids and the blinding grins on their faces makes the moment worth it, so very worth it.   
  
  
“Are you ready?” Clarke asks and Abby turns around from where she’s waiting in the living room, dressed in a beautiful knee-length white lace dress. Abby’s eyes sweep proudly and affectionately over Clarke’s light pink halter-neck A-line dress, one that matches Octavia’s baby blue and Raven’s soft green one. Her hands are gloved in delicate pink but her arms are bare, a testament to how far she has come because everybody around her has gotten used to her abilities, and for the ones close to her- it is as natural as breathing to touch Clarke only where she is covered without thinking twice or hesitating.   
  
  
Abby’s hands come to rest on her daughter’s waist and they take a moment to simply smile at each other. “I love you, Clarke,” she says and her eyes well up.  
  
  
“No! No crying today, mom!” Clarke protests, sucking in a deep breath through her nose before her own tears can spring up. “If you cry, we’re all going to cry. You _know_ that.”  
  
  
Abby nods and Clarke reaches up to catch the single tear that falls from her mother’s eye. “I love you too, mom. And I’m really happy for you, for _us_. Dad would be too.”   
  
  
“He would be, right?” Abby asks, and Clarke refuses to allow her mother even a moment of doubt.  
  
  
“Yes,” she says firmly. “He would be so happy.”  
  
  
“I can’t believe I’m marrying before you are,” Abby laughs gently.   
  
  
“My day will come too,” Clarke says, squeezing her mother’s shoulders. “But today, _I’m_ going to be the one walking _you_ down the aisle. Are you ready?” Her mother nods and they walk together towards the lake. Octavia and Raven are waiting near to where the aisle begins, between two sets of rows upon rows of chairs, crammed with all their students and friends. On the other side, Kane stands on the elevated stage underneath an arc of flowers and vines. Beside him stands Bellamy, ready to officiate the wedding. Clarke giggles at how nervous he looks and he glares at her.   
  
  
“Ready, Abby?” Octavia asks, reaching out to squeeze her arm, grinning from ear to ear.  
  
  
“More than anything else in the world,” Abby says. Octavia kisses her on the cheek and Raven does the same before they begin their walk down the aisle, flowers in hand as Miller starts the music.   
  
  
As the soft melody floats through the air, there is silence across the entire courtyard. The sun shines above them and a gentle breeze carries over the lake towards them. Clarke holds her hand out to her mother and Abby laces her fingers through her daughter’s, holding tight. Together, they begin their walk down the aisle.  
  
  
When Clarke walks down the aisle thirty-six months later, it is between Madi and Abby, and it is towards Bellamy, who is staring at her as if he has never seen anything more beautiful in the entire world. Clarke does not wear her gloves because Madi has insisted that she should be allowed to hold her husband’s hands and kiss her husband’s lips on her wedding day, and Clarke kisses Madi’s forehead and accepts her offer to stand close to Clarke at the altar.   
  
  
But that’s only three years later. For now, it is her mother’s wedding.  
  
  
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the joining of two souls,” Bellamy starts once Kane and Abby are stood facing each other. “I’m going to go a little bit off script and speak more from my heart, if that’s okay?” Kane and Abby nod enthusiastically. “I think there’s a point in time in everybody’s life where they think to themselves that maybe they aren’t meant for happy endings, or equally for beautiful new beginnings. But here’s the thing- everybody is meant for happiness, of love. And when you least expect it, love _will_ find you.” Clarke feels her breath catch when Bellamy turns to his right to lock eyes with her. She smiles softly at him and he smiles back before turning back to the front. Nobody misses the exchange, everybody wonders if they should start preparing for a second wedding already. “Love _will_ carry you home. It might not be the person you expected, it might not be the home you expected, but it _will_ be beautiful. Marcus spent so many years building this home for all those who needed it,” he meets his headmaster’s eyes. “He spent so many years choosing to be the supporting character in our fairytales, just to make sure that we would get the happy beginnings and happy endings that we deserve. Today, I am beyond happy that _we_ are the supporting characters in _his_ fairytale, that we get to witness the start of _his_ future. And I-,” he turns to Abby, “I can’t think of anybody more perfect for him than Abby. Marcus taught us how to build a home, Abby taught us how to build a family- and together, they taught us what love looks like.”   
  
  
“Oh my god, Bell, you’re going to make us all cry,” Octavia shouts from the front row of the seating and the crowd roars with laughter as the engaged couple take a moment to wipe their eyes and join in the laughter.  
  
  
“So Marcus and Abby, it is my honour to seal your love in holy matrimony,” Bellamy grins. “I know you have made your vows privately so I’m going to skip that and next ask not the audience but you- if you have any objections to this wedding, please speak now, because once this is over, you are going to basically become the official mom and dad to about sixty children, and no way to escape that. Any objections?”  
  
  
“There’s nothing we want more,” Kane says, the muscles in his face tiring from the ever-present smile stretched across his face. Abby tightens her fingers around his, her eyes shining.   
  
  
“The rings please,” Bellamy says, turning to Clarke, who passes them to her mother and Kane. Kane slips the ring on to Abby’s finger and Abby does the same for Kane, eliciting loud cheers from the audience. “By the power vested in me, I am honoured to now pronounce you man and wife. If you are ready for the chaos that is about to ensue, you may kiss.”   
  
  
And when Marcus leans forward and captures Abby’s lips in a soft kiss, the chaos that Bellamy promised from the crowd does indeed ensue. Loud clapping and cheering from every single member of the audience as they rise to their feet, some crying and most laughing and the happiness abundant in the air is absolutely exhilarating, as is the celebration that follows.   
  
  
Clarke catches Bellamy’s hand as the newly married couple walk down the aisle towards the mansion, followed by all their students and friends.   
  
  
“That was a beautiful speech,” she says, grinning up at him, leaning forward and resting her chin on her shoulder. She feels drunk on joy.   
  
  
“It was inspired by a beautiful person,” he replies, lifting her hand to kiss her knuckles.   
  
  
“I love you,” Clarke whispers, releasing his hand to wrap her arms around his waist.   
  
  
“I love you too,” he draws her closer to him.   
  
  
“You’re going to dance with me, right?” She asks as they watch the crowd of people heading towards the main fountain, around which tables and tables of drinks await them.   
  
  
“If I must,” Bellamy scrunches up his nose in distaste.  
  
  
“It’s a wedding, you definitely must,” Clarke replies firmly.   
  
  
“Clarke, come on!” Octavia calls from down the aisle, where she stands hand in hand with Lincoln. “We can’t wait for your toast!”  
  
  
“Let the lovers be, the next time they’re going to be up there is on their own wedding day,” Raven says, unaware that she is right. She is also unaware that the wedding after that, only fourteen months later, will be hers. And the one after that will be Octavia’s. And one by one, the very people who once believed that beautiful things were never meant for their broken tales are the same people who find their fairytale endings and love story beginnings.  
  
  
Bellamy and Clarke would one day walk down the aisle together, finally married, though Murphy will complain that it took “fucking forever”. Octavia would break down halfway through her toast, overwhelmed with happiness because she feels like it is _her_ happily ever after because her brother is her everything, causing Raven to take over for the second half of the speech. She would manage to keep it together but hugs Clarke and Bellamy so tight later on that they all begin to tear up. A sixteen year old Madi would play the piano with Monty for Bellamy and Clarke’s first dance, and Wells would dance with Clarke for the official father-daughter dance, which leaves them both laughing loudly the whole time, but Clarke wouldn’t have it any other way. Jasper would accidentally knock into the drinks table at the end of the evening, causing the day to end in a massive clean up job but nobody even minds because their hearts are so damn full.   
  
  
But that is three years later. For now, there is another wedding to celebrate.  
  
  
+++  
  
  
Bellamy Blake’s love for Clarke Griffin never wavers. Not once, not even a little, not for a single moment.   
  
  
Clarke is sure that it would, because for a long time she remains unconvinced about her ability to be loved because of the lack of her ability to be touched. Bellamy can understand her hesitation, and he allows her to take the time she needs until she fully grasps the idea that he is steadfast in his love for her, and nothing will change that.   
  
  
And she does, she slowly sees this. He shows it to her with every kiss to her gloved knuckles, he shows it to her when he hugs her tightly and resolutely after she has screamed at him to just _“leave before either of them get hurt”_ though he already knows that they are far beyond that point already, that there would be nothing but hurt if one of them were to leave. He shows it to her in the way he always carries a pair of gloves in his back pocket so he never has to fight the urge to touch her when he wants to. He shows it by showing up at her room every Saturday morning for a crossword, even if she went to bed angry at herself the previous night. He shows it by spending time with her mother, playing games of chess or cooking or discussing books. He shows it with every hello and every I love you and every word in between, in every moment he can spare.   
  
  
He shows it and shows it until she can no longer deny it. Not once, not even a little, not for a single moment.   
  
  
Bellamy learns what happiness feels like, what hope feels like. He learns it from Clarke, and from his friends, and his mentors, and he learns it from himself. He sees that the past he thought would bring him down is the very past that fuels his drive to become better and to better the world around him.   
  
  
And on the days when his heart aches and his shoulders are heavy because _the world can still be so cruel to the good,_ Clarke is there to hold his hand. Clarke is there to lie in bed with him in silence through the night because sometimes words aren’t enough, but come tomorrow the pain will be lesser.   
  
  
When Clarke decides a year after their wedding that she wants to run for parliament, the first mutant to ever do so, he is afraid. Because while the world is improving, there are enough people out there who despise their very existences, and he does not want Clarke to live with a target on her back. But she reminds him that even in the face of danger, they must never give in to fear and turn their backs on the people who need them, they must never run from the opportunity to make the world a better place. She campaigns alongside Wells. He gets elected within the first year of their campaign, and she loses three years in a row. But she never gives up. And in her fourth, she is voted to parliament alongside Callie. Eventually, Clarke is elected mayor of Ark, Wells her proud deputy, and together they send ripples of hope through not just the country, but the world. The first time she and Bellamy are seen on a construction site together at a new hospital in Polis, the term “Power Couple” starts trending, and the pun is not lost on them.   
  
  
Kane works tirelessly with Clarke to develop their knowledge about her abilities. Octavia grows and grows through her training until she is able to control with absolute certainty the full extent of her telekinesis, a feat that Clarke draws hope from- that she too would one day control her own powers. He never asks her about her progress with Kane, he never presses her for details about their research and training together. He hopes for her that she can find resolution in their work, whether that be discovering a way to control her powers or deciding that she would never be able to do so, but he promises he will be by her side regardless. Something that she well knows.   
  
  
On Madi’s eighteenth birthday, they gift her adoption papers, and ask her if she would like to be a Blake-Griffin. She rolls her eyes and says, “Is that even a question? I’ve been one for the last eight years” but starts crying midway through and by the end of the week, she officially becomes Madi Blake-Griffin. Abby hates being called Grandma, but Marcus loves being called Granddad. Bellamy looks between his family members- his sister, his wife, his daughter, his brother-in-law, his parents in-laws and can’t help but chuckle at how different they all are. But he wouldn’t have it any other way. This was his family and nothing in the world could bring them down so long as they had each other.   
  
  
In the years that follow, Bellamy, Miller, Raven, Echo, Emori and Murphy take over teaching and running Kane’s school; Octavia and Lincoln help open a second school in Polis and take on Gina, Jasper and Harper to teach alongside them; the task force continues to operate, run by a new generation of mutants; and Clarke, Wells, Callie, Monty and Niylah are joined by more allies, mutant and non-mutant, in parliament. The future of Mutantkind looks brighter with each passing day.   
  
  
Fifteen years after their first Christmas together, as the two of them are cleaning up the living room after the school’s annual Christmas party, Clarke pulls Bellamy towards her under the mistletoe in the doorway and presses her lips against his.  
  
  


* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AND IT'S DONE! 
> 
> I know that was a LOT- was it too much? Too little? I wrote this over the span of 2-3 weeks, working on a bit every day, until I was happy with everything I had. And once i had it written, I had to figure out what order to put the different sections in. I hope it wasn't too confusing, keeping up with the different time jumps. I know the story was all from Bellamy' POV- but I wanted this chapter to encompass everybody's future- bits and bobs from everyone's lives, so I changed the POV to allow them all some personal time. 
> 
> -Yes, that final line was a tiny little glimpse into the future of Clarke's control on her own powers. I didn't want to go into it because that was never the important part of why Bellamy loves her.  
> \- I know there was a lot of Abby but I just really loved the idea of them getting this mother figure from someone they least expected- especially Octavia. I hope I did all the characters and their arcs justice!  
> \- I honestly didn't have the whole Clarke running for parliament and becoming Mayor thing planned AT ALL- it just ended up getting written as I went through that section, and I just felt like it would FIT you know? I first thought Wells would become Mayor, but then I thought no- hang on, let's do Clarke as Mayor and Wells as deputy- HE would love that!  
> \- I knew I wanted Niylah to come back and become significant somehow, and I'm happy with how it turned out! I wish I had had more space to write Emori and Echo, but I'm glad I could include them at least a little bit, with powers I think would fit them.  
> \- I never realised how special Madi and her ability would be for Clarke either until I started writing it and went- hang on a second! This is BEUATIFUL. And then I just kind of kept writing that section, because I love that Clarke got to make this special bond with someone.  
> \- Also I know NOTHING about how elections and parliaments actually work, or if senators are even accurate in this case- so please forgive me if I got that whole set up wrong hahaha I tried to research it but it was a lot, so I just kind of went with what I thought might make sense, at least in the fanfic context. 
> 
> Thank you so so so so much for joining me through this journey- to those who were there from chapter one, and to those who joined along the way. All your views and comments and kudos and bookmarks honestly meant the world to me, and it was really something that kept me going through the lockdown through all my writing. Thank you to the frequent commenters- your words inspired me and motivated me and made me feel so so loved. 
> 
> I would love to hear what you thought about this final chapter! <3 
> 
> Take care, everyone! You can check out my page for more stories- and I have a few exciting Bellarke fics coming up too, so you can keep an eye out for those xx
> 
> Lots of love and hugs!! xx


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